AlphaTauri announced ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that it has signed Mekies as its new team principal replacing Franz Tost, who will stand down at the end of this season.
However, no date has been set for Mekies' arrival at the Faenza-based squad because he remains under a long-term contract at Ferrari.
Tost suggested that the exact timing was something that would need to be sorted out between Ferrari and Red Bull.
"First of all, it's between Laurent and Fred [Vasseur]," said Tost about the process of sorting Mekies' arrival.
"Then, of course, Red Bull will take a major role in this. I think that Oliver Mintzlaff [Red Bull CEO] will then talk to the CEO from Ferrari and find a solution."
While Ferrari does not want to block the move entirely, team boss Fred Vasseur's annoyance at the timing of the AlphaTauri announcement has made him reluctant to bend over backwards to accommodate the switch as swiftly as his rival would like.
Speaking at the Azerbaijan GP last weekend, Vasseur said AlphaTauri's call to go public with the Mekies move was "aggressive".
However, Autosport has learned that, with negotiations set to open up between Red Bull and Ferrari over the situation, key to it could be a compromise arrangement that suits both parties.
Source: Autosport