Gerhard Berger: “It was a mistake to lose Binotto. I would have kept him alongside Fred Vasseur”. Gerhard Berger feels "it was a mistake to lose Binotto".

The first part of Ferrari’s 2023 Formula 1 season has proven, at least according to on-track results, to be very challenging. The Prancing Horse, despite the rosy expectations in the winter, has struggled to extract the potential from the SF-23 single-seater, which, despite being the evolution of the F1-75, has proven to be slow and at times incomprehensible. This has caused a significant drop in Ferrari’s position in the constructors’ standings.

In addition to this, the Scuderia’s present is complicated by ongoing changes in the team’s organization (the turnover of top figures over the past months, starting with the departure of Team Principal Mattia Binotto, David Sanchez, and Laurent Mekies, and the arrival of new figures), as well as rumors related to drivers, especially Charles Leclerc, whose contract renewals have not yet been discussed. These ingredients create a challenging environment in which to lay the foundations for a better future than the present.

One moment, rich in rumors and changes, includes the departure of Team Principal Mattia Binotto, who was replaced by Frederic Vasseur since last January. This significant change has been commented on repeatedly by various figures and, despite the passing months, remains a topic of discussion. Among those commenting on it, there’s former Formula 1 driver and Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger in a recent interview reported by ‘Crash.net’.

Firstly, the Austrian analyzed the scenario in which, instead of a significant managerial change, the path of coexistence between Frederic Vasseur as Team Principal and Mattia Binotto as Technical Director could have been taken, given the highs and lows of the team.

“It’s difficult to say if they could have worked together; currently, Ferrari’s situation is marked by ups and downs.”

Coexistence driven by the complexity of making a Formula 1 team function and succeed.

“If I were Ferrari, I would have preferred to keep Mattia Binotto on the technical side and Fred Vasseur on the sporting side, trying to divide the work between them to avoid putting everything on one person. It’s so complex today to have a successful F1 team, and it’s challenging for one person to manage everything.”

According to the former McLaren driver, this change has not led Ferrari to transform itself and make the necessary leap forward to beat Red Bull, remaining the second force within a competitive group of cars.

“Anyway, they made their choice, but it feels like they are not as fast as last year. Overall, the result is quite similar, but it’s not good enough to beat Red Bull. That said, there’s Mercedes, McLaren, Aston Martin: I mean, there are five cars that could win.” – he concluded.