The exemption within the new financial regulations
Most Formula 1 teams are based in the United Kingdom, with the exception of Audi and the Italian Scuderia Ferrari. The German manufacturer, represented by the four rings, operates with three distinct hubs: the historic Sauber headquarters in Hinwil, the power unit division in Neuburg, and a technical center in Bicester, England. Because of the high labor costs associated with the Swiss facility, the team led by Ferrari’s former team principal will be allowed a higher budget limit than its competitors.
Given that the German giant has no financial issues, being permitted to spend more is clearly a political success. These are, after all, concessions granted to the core of the future Audi team – Sauber – which has been competing in Formula 1 for more than 30 years. It is not as if labor costs in Switzerland have suddenly increased by 35–40 percent compared to rival countries this year.
Chassis have always been built in Hinwil, even though Sauber, except for its BMW chapter, has traditionally been a customer team purchasing power units from other manufacturers. If we add the fact that the turbo-hybrid power units are being developed at the German technology hub in Neuburg, it becomes difficult to understand the reasoning behind such a provision. For this reason, the political victory stands out even more clearly.
A political victory that makes noise
It is difficult to assign credit for these concessions to one individual, but it should not be overlooked that Mattia Binotto is currently responsible for Audi’s Formula 1 program. Having joined Audi in the summer of 2024, he was appointed Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technical Officer. Since May this year, he has also taken charge of development activities at the Hinwil and Neuburg facilities, as well as the British technical center in Bicester.
Could it be that the change of colors has turned the Lausanne-born manager into a skillful strategist, capable of playing the political game more effectively than the technical one? This is the same executive who, during his leadership at the helm of Ferrari’s Racing Division, often collected nothing but setbacks whenever he had to represent the Scuderia on the political and sporting stage. History speaks for itself.
The lack of political weight in Ferrari’s top management
One cannot forget the controversial “settlement agreement” signed with the FIA in February 2020, which condemned the Prancing Horse to two years of anonymity. Another example came with the technical directive TD039, introduced to address porpoising but which ended up crippling one of the F1-75’s strongest areas of performance. The question arises naturally: are Mattia Binotto before, and Frédéric Vasseur now, paying for their own mistakes, or are they simply scapegoats for an absent ownership?
We must also recall the absence of Ferrari’s top Italian management from the key constructors’ meeting with FIA leaders in Bahrain. The goal here is not to re-evaluate Binotto’s entire tenure with the Scuderia, but rather to analyze, in an impartial way, a dynamic that repeats itself far too often in political circles. Is it really possible that in Maranello everyone is considered incompetent, only to become highly valued once they leave? Perhaps the real problem lies higher up the chain of command.
