Marco Perrone is an Italian Formula 1 engineer and the Head of Sporting Direction at Racing Bulls. His entire professional career has been spent with the Faenza-based team, through its Toro Rosso, AlphaTauri and Racing Bulls identities, giving him almost two decades of institutional knowledge of the squad. ¹²

Education and arrival in F1

Perrone graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Rome Tor Vergata and joined Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2008, shortly afterwards. He began as an R&D engineer, working on component design and structural calculations within the research and development department. ¹²

“Marco Perrone is an Italian Formula 1 engineer and the Head of Sporting Direction at Racing Bulls.”

Through the engineering ranks

In 2011 he moved into a vehicle dynamics role, contributing to the team's simulation, wind-tunnel and rig testing and serving as a test data engineer during track sessions, before joining the race team as a strategy engineer in 2013, responsible for competitor analysis, tyre modelling and pit-wall operations. When the team set up a dedicated race-strategy department, he was promoted to Head of Strategy in 2015, a role he held through the 2020 rebranding to Scuderia AlphaTauri. ¹²

Head of Sporting Direction

In 2022 Perrone stepped up to Head of Sporting Direction, taking on broader operational and regulatory responsibilities spanning pit-wall operations, car preparation, pit stops and team discipline. He has noted that his strategy background helps in understanding the Sporting Regulations. He has continued in the senior sporting role through the team's rebranding to Racing Bulls, overseeing sporting operations and trackside coordination — supporting mechanics, logistics and race operations — and acting as the team's principal liaison with the FIA. ¹²³

Why he matters

In a team whose senior leadership has turned over significantly — a new Team Principal, CEO, CTO and Technical Director within a couple of seasons — Perrone is a rare point of continuity, an engineer who has worked through every identity the Faenza squad has carried. His command of the sporting regulations and trackside operations matters most precisely when the rest of the organisation is changing and the technical rules are new. ¹³

Bottom line

Perrone is a classic one-team specialist: an engineer who grew up inside the Faenza squad and converted deep strategy expertise into a senior sporting-operations role. He provides continuity and institutional knowledge on the operational side of Racing Bulls as the team navigates the 2026 regulations. ¹²