Ferrari GT driver Josef Kral has engaged reverse after generating a rumour that Mattia Binotto was set to be fired.
According to RacingNews365, the 30-year-old Czech racer had posted a subsequently deleted video on his YouTube channel claiming Ferrari had decided to axe Mattia Binotto as team principal or were about to.
The report said Kral’s claim was that Ferrari were waiting until after pre-season testing in Bahrain next week to announce Binotto’s exit and “thank him for a good car” in a farewell message.
However, Kral, who won a GP2 race at Spa in 2012 and describes himself as a “Ferrari 488 GT3 racing driver” on his Twitter profile, has now backtracked and said his comments were “taken out of context”.
He explained: “Just to make it loud and clear…some of my recent comments about Scuderia Ferrari have been misinterpreted and taken out of context…What I said was based on my own opinion and without any real base or information…I apologise if these speculations have created any issue.”
Mattia Binotto received heavy criticism last year for Ferrari’s poor performance which saw them finish sixth in the constructors’ World Championship standings.
From winning three consecutive races in September 2019, they fell off the pace due to a deficit of engine power following technical directives issued by the FIA.
That is a problem the Italian giants have worked to address for the forthcoming campaign as they hope to push their way back up the order, but a title challenge with drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz is unlikely to occur until 2022 at the earliest when the sport’s new regulations are introduced.
In the meantime, the Italian side has announced changes to their management structure aimed at helping Binotto lead the team back to success.
Mattia Binotto, who began stepping away from attending races towards the end of 2020, is due to continue spending more time at the Maranello factory.
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