“YOU SHOULD GO TO ANOTHER TEAM NOW, LEARN SOMETHING NEW, GET MORE EXPERIENCE AND THEN COME BACK TO US”
Given Franz Tost’s penchant for dry humour, you wouldn’t know how serious he was suggesting that his then-chief race engineer, Laurent Mekies, should leave – in order to return down the line armed with new knowledge and ideas.
And although Tost insists he was joking, Mekies – who had spent 12 years with the Faenza-based outfit from 2002 to 2014 – ended up doing as he was told.
“That’s how direct he could be!” Laurent laughs as GP Racing reminds him of the story Tost repeatedly told following the news that Mekies would replace him as team principal. “When at some stage, having spent a number of years together, we were looking for ways to move forward and take the next steps, that was his advice – which I obviously followed carefully!”
Mekies’ first race with the team – still Minardi back then – was in Australia in 2002, where Mark Webber finished fifth. Caught up in the excitement, Webber and team owner Paul Stoddart sneaked onto the podium to acknowledge the home crowd after the top three had departed, incurring a fine from the FIA. Mekies was Webber’s engine engineer.
A graduate of Loughborough University, Mekies had
