“It seems to me that the team has given a clear signal of what they want.” – In this way Mattia Binotto, at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, proudly underlined the fact that despite the rumors which later proved to be true regarding his imminent replacement at the top of Scuderia Ferrari, the Maranello team put on track one of the best performances of 2022 in the final round of the season at the Yas Marina circuit, taking second place in both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ standings with Charles Leclerc.
From Friday to Sunday in Abu Dhabi, the Maranello technicians changed the setup of the F1-75 cars after the first free practice sessions due to worrying tire degradation. In addition, the strategies worked well in Abu Dhabi, with Charles Leclerc who was amazing at making the one-stop pit strategy work with Carlos Sainz who did not attack his teammate when he could have done so after the Monegasque returned to the track and still had to warm up the tires. A few days later, Mattia Binotto resigned aware of having lost the confidence of CEO Benedetto Vigna and chairman John Elkann and from January 9 Frederic Vasseur will be the new team principal and general manager of Scuderia Ferrari.
A change at the top of the Ferrari Formula 1 Racing Division with which Giancarlo Minardi, founder of the eponymous Formula 1 outfit now known as AlphaTauri, does not completely agree: “Fred Vasseur is certainly good, but I wouldn’t have changed Mattia Binotto, he would have deserved another chance,” said Giancarlo Minardi, who is also FIA Single-Seater Commission – “I don’t want to use a football metaphor, but in the last round of 2022 Ferrari raced for Mattia Binotto”, he added in an interview with Corriere dello Sport, reiterating the same concept Mattia Binotto himself had focused on at the end of the race held at Yas Marina.
Frederic Vasseur will be the fifth team principal of the Scuderia Ferrari over a period of less than a decade, the fourth if we exclude Marco Mattiacci’s brief stay at the helm of the Prancing Horse in 2014. Before him in charge was Stefano Domenicali, then it was Maurizio Arrivabene’s turn before Mattia Binotto’s four-year period which now ends one year before his contract would have expired:
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
“Nobody in Formula 1 works miracles, the winning solution is continuity – concluded Giancarlo Minardi – Jean Todt won his first World Championship in 2000 and had been in charge since 1992. Evidently they had more patience with him” – the Italian pointed out.
Leave a Reply