Latest news with #AlanPermane
RNZ News
a day ago
- Automotive
- RNZ News
F1: Liam Lawson had 'near-perfect race' - Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane
Liam Lawson during the Belgium Grand Prix, 2025. Photo: ANTONIN VINCENT / AFP Liam Lawson is back in the points with a drive that impressed his new team principal. Lawson finished eighth in the Belgian Grand Prix to pick up points for the third time this season. The 23-year-old started ninth on the grid in a race that began behind a safety car because of rain at Spa-Francorchamps. He was able to overtake Racing Bulls team-mate Isack Hadjar on lap 12 and got priority in the pits to change tyres as the track dried. "Liam had a near-perfect race," said Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane. "He managed his tyres exceptionally well, both on the intermediates and on the dry tyres. "He was strong and able to comfortably pull away from [Kick Sauber driver] Bortoleto behind and was very happy with the car overall." Lawson is now 14th in the Drivers' Championship with 16 points. "I really enjoyed today," he said afterwards. "Often in those conditions you just want to survive, so I'm very happy for the team and how everything came together. "It's always tricky when you cross over to a dry tyre when it's damp, but the car was fast and in clean air we had great pace." New Zealand driver Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls. Photo: FLORENT GOODEN / PHOTOSPORT Oscar Piastri beat McLaren teammate Lando Norris to win his sixth race of the season and extend his lead in the Drivers' Championship to 16 points. The Hungarian Grand Prix is next weekend before a four-week break. Racing Bulls remains seventh in the Constructors' Championship, but are now just two points behind Kick Sauber and five ahead of Aston Martin. Permane, who took over from Laurent Mekies after he was promoted to Red Bull, admits they don't have much time to prepare for round 14. "There are only a few days to reflect on this race as we're quickly onto Budapest with a very different track and a very different downforce level," Permane said. "It'll be much hotter and we've got different tyres, but we expect our car to perform well there, and we will have our usual target of getting both our cars into Q3 and in the points." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Alan Permane on leading Racing Bulls: 'Some shock, some pride' but 'relishing the challenge'
racing director and paddock veteran Alan Permane to fill the role as team principal, overseeing the Anglo-Italian squad's 700 staff across Milton Keynes in the UK and Faenza in Italy. From its Benetton guise through Renault, Lotus and Alpine, Permane was a stalwart at team Enstone as an engineer and sporting director, before leaving the team exactly two years ago. He was then snapped up by Racing Bulls in January 2024 as its new racing director, adding his three-decade experience to a squad commissioned by Red Bull to forge its own identity and vie for the top of the midfield. Alan Permane, Racing Director RB F1 Team, Laurent Mekies, Team Principal, RB F1 Team Having been involved in the series since 1989, 58-year-old Permane has seen it all, but becoming a team principal was not on his horizon and took him by surprise. "I had many reactions to the news, some shock, some pride," Permane told in an exclusive interview. "It's amazing that they feel I'm capable and have the potential to lead this team. I deeply thank the Red Bull Austria senior management, Oliver Mintzlaff and Helmut Marko, and, of course, Laurent for recommending me, pushing me forward, his belief in me as well. It's been a great week." 'The target is to be top of the midfield, and we are certainly in a battle for that and we'll continue that fight throughout this year.' Permane has had just two weeks to get his feet under his new desk before heading to this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, but he feels that the solid structure that Mekies and team CEO Peter Bayer have put in place, which has allowed the team to become a more competitive midfield force, means he doesn't need to reinvent the wheel either. "Well, the plan of action is to keep things as they are," he pointed out. "Laurent and Peter have done a fantastic job with this team over the last 18 months, leading to a surge in competitiveness. And my plan is to keep that running, keep the team on the same trajectory as it's been on. "It's a great team and I know that the senior Red Bull guys are extremely happy with the way the team is being run. They're very happy with our competitiveness. The target is to be top of the midfield, and we are certainly in a battle for that and we'll continue that fight throughout this year. "From my side, it's certainly going to mean some more travel. I'm predominantly based in Milton Keynes. In my previous role as racing director, I did spend some time in Italy, but it will no doubt mean I will split my time between the two sites. Probably a little bit more on the Faenza side, where that larger part of the team is." A serious challenge ahead Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls Team Permane feels his extensive experience as a sporting director has given him a solid background to slot into the top job, though he is not underestimating the challenge of going from leading a trackside team to sitting at the top of two factories housing over 700 staff. "I think sporting director gives you a decent grounding," he explained. "It's a much bigger role, of course. As a sporting director, you manage a group of 60 or 70 people. You sit on FIA committees. You work with the FIA, with stewards, with penalties and protests and things like that. So, you have a very good grounding and basis to take this job on, but it's of course a much bigger role. "There will be many things that are new, but I'm very ready to take it on and then I'm confident I'll do a good job." Racing Bulls will not appoint a direct replacement for the role of racing director for the time being. Instead, chief race engineer Mattia Spini will be taking on additional duties. "At the moment we won't fill it. We won't change things immediately," Permane explained. "Mattia will step up, and he's an excellent chief race engineer, and he's keen to do more, and he certainly has the capability to do more. Inevitably, I will be involved a bit more in that side of the business than Laurent was, certainly at the start, just making sure that that transition is as smooth as it can be. But I don't have any worries on that side. The track side team between Milton Keynes and Faenza is very strong." Paddock support In response to the news, Sauber chief Jonathan Wheatley posted a picture of him and Permane toasting with a glass of champagne in the Benetton garage as they celebrated their 1995 title success with Michael Schumacher. Permane and Wheatley became close friends during their time at the team, and in a stroke of serendipity they will now compete against each other as two of F1's 11 team principals. "We've grown up together," Permane said. "We both worked on Michael's car. In those days I was an electronics engineer, Jonathan was number two mechanic. And that's where our friendship started. We worked together for many years, Benetton, then Renault, and then of course he's moved on to Red Bull and now to Audi." Asked if he ever harboured any team boss ambitions like Wheatley, who left Red Bull to take the Sauber gig, he replied: "Honestly, no. I've been much more of a technical or a sporting guy. "But now it's happened, I'm relishing it. It's going to be a great challenge for me and I'm really looking forward to it." Read Also: 'Stroke of genius' set Racing Bulls up for season-best result at F1 Monaco GP Laurent Mekies handed Red Bull priority warning amid Max Verstappen exit rumours Laurent Mekies admits it feels "unreal" to see Red Bull F1 team without Christian Horner Who is Red Bull F1 team's new CEO Laurent Mekies? To read more articles visit our website.
The Independent
7 days ago
- Automotive
- The Independent
Meet the new Racing Bulls boss following shock promotion
Alan Permane has been appointed as the new Team Principal of Racing Bulls, following a reshuffle in Red Bull 's management. Permane's promotion occurred after Laurent Mekies, the former Racing Bulls team principal, was elevated to Red Bull F1 CEO. Permane, who was previously Racing Bulls' racing director, expressed both shock and pride at taking on the leadership role. He has a long career in Formula 1, having spent 34 years with Alpine and its previous iterations before joining Racing Bulls last season. Racing Bulls are currently seventh in the constructors' championship, with Permane aiming for the team to be at the top of the midfield. New Racing Bulls F1 team boss 'shocked' after 'amazing' promotion
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
New Racing Bulls F1 team boss ‘shocked' after ‘amazing' promotion
Alan Permane admitted he was 'shocked' after being announced as Racing Bulls' new team principal following Christian Horner's exit at Red Bull. The domino effect of Horner being relieved of his duties saw Laurent Mekies – formerly RB team principal – promoted to Red Bull F1 CEO. Permane, who was previously racing director at RB, is now the team boss. The 58-year-old was previously with Alpine, in all its previous guises including championship-winning seasons with Benetton and Renault, for 34 years before being let go in July 2023. The engineer joined Racing Bulls at the start of last season. 'I had many reactions to the news, some shock, some pride,' Permane told 'It's amazing that they feel I'm capable and have the potential to lead this team. 'I deeply thank the Red Bull Austria senior management, Oliver Mintzlaff and Helmut Marko, and of course Laurent for recommending me, pushing me forward, his belief in me as well. It's been a great week.' Racing Bulls are currently seventh in the constructors' championship and have two young talents in Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar in the cockpit. Alan Permane is Racing Bulls's new team principal (Getty Images) Yuki Tsunoda was previously with the team for four years before being promoted in March to replace Lawson, dropped by Red Bull after just two races. 'It's a great team and I know that the senior Red Bull guys are extremely happy with the way the team is being run,' Permane added. 'They're very happy with our competitiveness. 'The target is to be top of the midfield, and we are certainly in a battle for that and we'll continue that fight throughout this year.' The next race of the 2025 season is the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend (25-27 July).
The Independent
21-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
New Racing Bulls F1 team boss ‘shocked' after ‘amazing' promotion
Alan Permane admitted he was 'shocked' after being announced as Racing Bulls' new team principal following Christian Horner 's exit at Red Bull. The domino effect of Horner being relieved of his duties saw Laurent Mekies – formerly RB team principal – promoted to Red Bull F1 CEO. Permane, who was previously racing director at RB, is now the team boss. The 58-year-old was previously with Alpine, in all its previous guises including championship-winning seasons with Benetton and Renault, for 34 years before being let go in July 2023. The engineer joined Racing Bulls at the start of last season. 'It's amazing that they feel I'm capable and have the potential to lead this team. 'I deeply thank the Red Bull Austria senior management, Oliver Mintzlaff and Helmut Marko, and of course Laurent for recommending me, pushing me forward, his belief in me as well. It's been a great week.' Racing Bulls are currently seventh in the constructors' championship and have two young talents in Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar in the cockpit. Yuki Tsunoda was previously with the team for four years before being promoted in March to replace Lawson, dropped by Red Bull after just two races. 'It's a great team and I know that the senior Red Bull guys are extremely happy with the way the team is being run,' Permane added. 'They're very happy with our competitiveness. 'The target is to be top of the midfield, and we are certainly in a battle for that and we'll continue that fight throughout this year.' The next race of the 2025 season is the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend (25-27 July).
