Yesterday, all the major Italian newspapers, such as Gazzetta dello Sport, Corriere dello Sport or Corriere della Sera, reported on the front page of their website that Scuderia Ferrari team principal Binotto would be replace at the end of the 2022 Formula 1 championship, based on several sources from within the Maranello team.
Mattia Binotto, who made his way through the ranks in Ferrari, was promoted to the role of team principal in the start of the 2019 Formula 1 season, after a solid contribution working as Ferrari’s head of engines and subsequently its chief technical officer.
Things were looking great in the early part of 2022: the pre-season testing session was impressive and Charles Leclerc won the opening round of the F1 campaign, in Bahrain, finished second in Saudi Arabia and then secured another race win, this time in Australia. Ferrari had finally built a very competitive car and was expected to challenge Red Bull, the other top team based on the new 2022 regulations, for both world titles this year.
However, a series of strategy mistakes from the Maranello pit wall, slow pit stops and power unit reliability problems gradually took Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz out of the fight for the championship, as Ferrari now has to even defend second place in the constructors’ championship against a charging Mercedes. As reported by the Italian media, Ferrari’s poor run this season determined chairman John Elkann’s decision to remove Mattia Binotto as team principal and instead give this responsibility to his Alfa Romeo counterpart Frédéric Vasseur.
Yet in another twist of events, Scuderia Ferrari then posted on official statement on its social media accounts and its official website to deny the information regarding Mattia Binotto’s position, describing the reports as “totally without foundation”.
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The experienced Frédéric Vasseur previously worked with Charles Leclerc at Alfa Romeo during the Monegasque’s first season in Formula 1 and has close ties with Ferrari given the fact that the Sauber-run team is an engine partner of Maranello and is sponsored by sister brand Alfa Romeo. Some media outlets even reported today that Ferrari chairman John Elkann would make such a move and bring Frédéric Vasseur also thanks to his good relationship with Charles Leclerc, hoping to convince the Monegasque driver to continue with the Maranello team, as his current contract is available only until the end of 2024.
In addition to this, the French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport L’Équipe reported that “Charles Leclerc and Mattia Binotto are no longer speaking to each other since Silverstone. The Monegasque, who had lost the race following a new strategic error, had been reprimanded by Binotto in front of the cameras as he got out of his car.” – L’Équipe wrote.
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