Before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the first rumors had been reported by to the Italian national news outlets and subsequently by the international media. Then Ferrari issued an official statement denying what it called “rumours” and “speculation” in Italian media that team principal Mattia Binotto will be replaced by Alfa Romeo team boss Fred Vasseur in 2023.
However on Friday, again, it was Corriere della Sera that raised the issue, reiterating that yes, Mattia Binotto’s hours at the helm of the Racing Division were numbered and that the team principal – whose contract would have expired at the end of the 2023 championship – was ready to resign.
For the moment, this scenario hypothesized by the press has not yet been followed up by any official statement from Ferrari. However, the fact that this time there hasn’t even been any formal denial from the top management of the Maranello team has not gone unnoticed. Providing more information to an already extremely intricate situation was then the clarification – which appeared to most at least unusual – made by the Corriere della Sera journalists themselves, who underlined how the confirmation of Mattia Binotto’s farewell came from people close to Charles Leclerc.
Another aspect that risks putting even more pressure on the Monegasque’s shoulders in view of the 2023 Formula One season, especially if Fred Vasseur, a figure known to be a friend of the Monegasque driver, should really take Mattia Binotto’s place. In all the Italian newspapers, meanwhile, the news of the definitive rift between Ferrari and the man who has held the role of team principal since 2019, after having worked in Maranello occupying various jobs for almost three decades, has been confirmed.
“Those who know John Elkann speak of his intentions to replace Mattia Binotto for some time now […] – write Daniele Sparisci and Giorgio Terruzzi in Corriere della Sera – which makes the way in which this change is done worrying, given that a replacement has not yet been hired. […] It was an agony […] studded with silences and hesitations […], an attitude that raises questions if we think of the weight of the Ferrari brand. […] The role of Charles Leclerc, given by many as influential, will be clarified in the future. Charles took himself out of the matter: he knows that any inference about his responsibility risks turning into a burden. In reality we believe that John Elkann has applied his own conviction […]. Making the decision with the CEO Vigna, eager to assert his role. It is no coincidence that an interim appointment of Vigna himself is taken into consideration, pending the official announcement of Mattia Binotto’s replacement […]“.
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“[…] In the name of a process of improvement, continuity and immaturity towards success, Mattia Binotto pays for having used too soft a hand to correct defects – writes Alessandra Retico in La Repubblica – Discontent even among the drivers […] . In particular Charles Leclerc, who perhaps felt undervalued compared to a Carlos Sainz, chosen by Mattia Binotto to replace Sebastian Vettel. With the goal of team results, the manager never wanted to establish a hierarchy among his two drivers. […] this time the Scuderia is not denying it. It works to wrap up the long goodbye […]. Binotto would no longer feel the support of the management, despite the fact that he claimed to have it even in Abu Dhabi, for the medium and long term […] “.
“[…] 2022 was an opportunity for redemption – underlines Stefano Mancini in La Stampa – Now expectations slip forward by another year. The new team principal will find a car whose basic technical characteristics are already defined. But he will have to work on teamwork“.
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