Former Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto called to save the Audi F1 project: but why?

Audi has changed everything. The Four Rings company had much different expectations when two years ago, in August 2022, it announced its entry into Formula 1 starting with the 2026 championship, the season that will mark a new revolution in terms of Formula 1 power units and aerodynamics. Especially the new engine regulations are designed to attract new manufacturers, and the Germans from Ingolstadt, with a grand announcement that also aimed to discredit Mercedes with the phrase “the first Power Unit built in Germany,” have so far produced a lot of smoke but little fire.

Over the years, there have been many rumors that the Germans were not ready for an expense that turned out to be much larger than expected. Oliver Hoffmann, the man responsible for this project, has been put on the hot seat several times for this reason, and his departure was not unexpected, aligning with paddock rumors that found confirmation.

In contrast, German motorsport engineer and manager Andreas Seidl was unexpectedly ousted. The former chief executive officer of Sauber Motorsport, after his successful experience at McLaren and his triumphant tenure at Porsche in the FIA World Endurance Championship, winning three consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans, was appointed CEO of Sauber to facilitate the Swiss team’s transition to Audi. Evidently, in this decision by the Germans, there was the failure to bring in current Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who was expected by many to join Audi after his contract with the Maranello team will expire at the end of the 2024 Formula 1 season, due to the relationship between the Four Rings and his father, but this never materialized, so much so that the Spaniard even preferred Williams.

The Audi Formula 1 project is not off to the best start, and yet it hasn’t really started: the much-vaunted engine, the all-German power unit, and the new factories promised in that famous August 2022 announcement have not had a, shall we say, brilliant follow-up. As we pointed out before, the expenses for the German company have been well above expectations, casting shadows on the actual entry under the new technical regulations, designed “ad hoc” to encourage entries of top-tier manufacturers in the world motorsport scene.

Nothing has gone as planned, and it’s useless to skirt around it; otherwise, you wouldn’t make such significant managerial changes after less than two years and before even hitting the track. Evidently, the paddock rumors over the past months have found confirmation, and for this reason, a figure already known in the Formula 1 world, especially by Ferrari fans, has been chosen.

We are, of course, talking about Mattia Binotto, the former team principal of the Maranello team, who has been out of the loop since the final round of the 2022 Formula 1 campaign, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The bespectacled Italian manager had been linked to several teams recently, notably Aston Martin and Alpine, but evidently, none of these rumors were true.

Mattia Binotto will have full authority in managing the entire Audi Formula 1 organization, including technical aspects. He will not be the Technical Director, as that role remains with James Key, but he will have his influence. This is something that can certainly benefit the Four Rings team, considering Mattia Binotto’s extensive experience during his time at Scuderia Ferrari, with many highs in his career and some lows that unfortunately cost the Italian side dearly, such as the infamous secret agreement with the FIA in 2020 regarding the allegedly illegal power unit of the 2019 Formula 1 car, the SF90, which also compromised the following season.

Mattia Binotto is someone who climbed the ranks to become the head of Ferrari’s Racing Department, a role that did not prevent him from staying closely involved in technical departments. At that time, however, it seemed he had overstepped, as many things went wrong, starting with engine reliability and continuing with in-season development and driver management.

First regarding Sebastian Vettel’s departure, with the German champion quickly exposing Mattia Binotto. Then in 2022, with poor communication with Charles Leclerc and the major errors from the Maranello pit wall that cost the Monegasque at least two wins in the first half of the season, when Ferrari arguably the fastest car on the grid after the introduction of the new generation of single-seaters that year. The F1-75 with Charles Leclerc behind the wheel of the car, was able to secure two race victories in the first three rounds of the 2022 Formula 1 championship, at the Bahrain International Circuit and at the Albert Park circuit. The Moneagsque driver had a solid advantage in the standings after the Australian Grand Prix, but the Italian side was not able to build on that momentum and lost valuable points due to power unit technical failures and some strategy decisions that were difficult to understand, as was the case in the Monaco Grand Prix when Charles Leclerc started from pole position ahead of his Maranello teammate Carlos Sainz, but Ferrari misread the track situation in mixed conditions and ended up outside the podium with the Monegasque driver on a track where overtaking is impossible. Not to mention what happened in the British Grand Prix at the Silverstone circuit, when Charles Leclerc was leading with just a few laps until the end of the race, when the Safety car was deployed, but the Maranello team’s strategists decided to pit for new soft tires only Carlos Sainz from second place, leaving the Monegasque driver on track with old hard tires. One again, a clear win for Charles Leclerc turned into a position outside the podium and another missed opportunity to gain points against Max Verstappen and Red Bull in what was expected to be a real challenge for the two world championship titles.

That finger-wagging at Charles Leclerc after the British Grand Prix fiasco to favor Carlos Sainz, a protégé of the Italian manager, still hurts Ferrari fans.

Many things did not go as planned, and it probably wasn’t the right time for Mattia Binotto to “spread his wings.” Now, he has a new opportunity, a challenge as fascinating as it is complicated with Audi, which is already starting with a handicap and a noisy revolution. Nothing is irrecoverable; there is still one year and a half until the debut, and for the former Ferrari team principal, it is the chance to rewrite his story as a Formula 1 manager, likely having started on the wrong foot.