Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc did not want to talk too much about the controversial rumour which was reported in the last few days by the Italian media, namely the immediate future Mattia Binotto, who is ending his fourth year in charge of the Maranello team.
Mattia Binotto’s position at the Italian outfit has been called into question after a season in which Ferrari was expected to challenge Red Bull for both championship titles. But after a strong start to the year, with a memorable one-two finish in the first race of the 2022 Formula 1 season and another victory for Charles Leclerc in the Australian Grand Prix (round 3), everything went downhill for the Scuderia, due to a series of power unit technical failures and some bad strategy decisions from the Maranello pit wall, which have plagued their efforts to rival Red Bull, as the Austrian side went on two easily won both titles.
Recent reports in the Italian media, based on sources inside Maranello, suggested that Mattia Binotto will be removed from the role of team principal at the end of the season and would be replaced by current Alfa Romeo boss Frederic Vasseur starting with 2023.
Ahead of the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc, who has worked with Frederic Vasseur during his first Formula 1 year at Sauber, kept his cards close to his chest when asked to comment on this matter in Thursday’s press conference at Yas Marina. The Monegasque driver said:
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“There are always rumours surrounding Ferrari, we just have to focus on the job. I think people tend to forget where we come from, but we just have to look at the work and not pay attention to the rumours. As for performance, we’ve come from ups and downs. An accident in Brazil, but the pace was good. After two difficult years, we hope to finish and fight for victory again, even if we think about the 2023 championship. Stability has paid off, we are improving and will grow further.” – Charles Leclerc explained.
Reports from Italy in the last few days inform that Ferrari chairman John Elkann has been looking to replace Mattia Binotto for quite some time before deciding on Frederic Vasseur as their ideal person to give the responsibilities of bringing the Italian side back to the top in 2023.
Yet Ferrari strongly denied this information and moved to play down the uncertainty regarding Mattia Binotto’s position as team principal by issuing an official press statement on its social media accounts, which read: “In relation to speculation in certain media regarding Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto’s position, Ferrari states that these rumours are totally without foundation.”
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