Former Formula 1 driver and current Sky F1 commentator Martin Brundle shared his thoughts about Scuderia Ferrari’s new restructuring process and felt that Mattia Binotto’s replacement as Ferrari principal, with no clear successor signed by the Maranello team, “looks a little bit strange”.
A few days ago, Scuderia Ferrari officially announced that Mattia Binotto would leave the Italian side at the end of 2022 after 28 years of working for the Maranello team in different positions. Mattia Binotto took the job as Ferrari team boss from his predecessor Maurizio Arrivabene in January 2019.
In comparison with the previous seasons, the Italian side enjoyed a decent 2022 Formula 1 season, ending the year in P2 in the Constructors standings, behind rivals Red Bull, who started the year with a car not as fast as the F1-75, but quickly recovered the gap and became unassailable in the second part of the campaign.
Yet, Ferrari’s lack of improvement since the start of the championship alongside a few strategic mistakes from the Maranello pit wall cost the Italian side many points and gradually eroded Mattia Binotto’s credit with Ferrari’s senior management, namely chairman John Elkann and chief executive officer Benedetto Vigna.
Scuderia Ferrari has confirmed that the new team principal will be announced in January and explained the process was already underway.
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!
Yet the talented Italian’s all-encompassing role in the Ferrari Formula 1 Racing Department, with the task of overseeing the team’s technical staff in addition to his overall management responsibilities, will not be easy to replace. As a result, many feel that the Italian side may not start the 2023 Formula One championship fighting at the top with Red Bull and Mercedes.
In an interview in London at the Guild of Motoring Writers’ Annual Awards dinner a few days ago, Martin Brundle said he was puzzled about Mattia Binotto’s departure and how the Maranello team does not seem to have a clear replacement plan in mind.
“You’re working for a country there at Ferrari, not just a team, of course,” explained the former Formula 1 driver.
“They’ve lost their chief technical officer and their team principal, so unless they have got somebody very, very good to replace him straightaway, it all looks a little bit strange. But that’s the nature of it.” – he added.
Asked about what happens next, Martin Brundle felt that maybe a diverse group of non-Italian individuals less vulnerable to Italy’s unrelenting media would have a better chance of bringing Scuderia Ferrari back at the top, as was the case two decades ago under the leadership of Jean Todt and Ross Brawn.
“You’ve got to speak Italian. And I think the problem is, if you look back at when they were last successful, they had a Frenchman in Jean Todt, a Brit in Ross Brawn, a South African with Rory Byrne and so on. Maybe that’s what they need again, something like that: people who are not completely exposed to the daily Italian media.” – Sky F1’s Martin Brundle concluded.
Leave a Reply