15/03/2018
NEWS STORY
McLaren team boss Eric Boullier has hit out following Ferrari's recruitment of the FIA's safety delegate and deputy race director, Laurent Mekies.
The Frenchman is to join the Maranello outfit in September in an (as yet) unidentified technical role.
The move comes in the wake of Renault's recruitment of the FIA's Marcin Budkowski last year, a move which caused uproar along the pitlane as rival teams feared that information the Pole had been privy to in his old role might now be passed on to his new employer.
Initially Budkowski faced three months of gardening leave before he could assume his new role but this was subsequently increased to six months.
Nonetheless, the teams felt that the information he had access to would still be relevant this season and as a result there was a gentleman's agreement that in future there should be a twelve month period of gardening leave.
Eric Boullier suggests that Ferrari not only broke this agreement but is unhappy with the fact that Mekies can assume his role in September.
"We very unhappy with the FIA for losing yet another key employee to a racing team," he told Motorsport.com. "Especially after it was agreed by all teams at the last Strategy Group meeting that no key technical FIA employees would be employed by a race team within 12 months of leaving the FIA.
"Ferrari went against the gentleman's agreement," he added, "and the FIA has not enforced it."
Though McLaren is the only team to have expressed its concern at the move, it is understood other teams are equally unhappy.
We're sure we'll hear lots more about it at next week's press conference... assuming Matteo Bonciani wants to get the season off to a perfect start.