Mattia Binotto at Silverstone one year after angry finger-pointing incident with Charles Leclerc

Mattia Binotto is also present at Silverstone. One year after the infamous angry finger-pointing incident with Charles Leclerc, the former team principal of Ferrari has been spotted in the paddock. The reason for his presence? A great mystery.

Yet one cannot help but think of the “tragic” coincidence. To find oneself again at that circuit which, according to some, was the straw that broke the camel’s back, causing the breakdown of the relationship between him and the Monegasque driver.

Mattia Binotto was noticed by some paddock guests, who photographed him together with Luca Colajanni, who held the role of Ferrari’s communication manager and is now involved with Pirelli. The engineer from Reggio Emilia then met with Marcin Budkowski, former FIA and ex-Alpine.

We do not know the reason for his presence at Silverstone on Friday’s free practice. Probably Mattia Binotto is still trying to remain in contact with the paddock, in anticipation of his return to Formula 1. The former Ferrari figure still has a few months of gardening leave to respect. However, in recent times, his name has been associated with various teams including Audi and Alpine. The first hypothesis, however, has been denied.

Silverstone: One year later
Last year, Mattia Binotto’s gesture towards Charles Leclerc sparked a lot of discussion. After the race, which saw his teammate Carlos Sainz triumph, the Monegasque driver appeared disappointed and frustrated. In a video, the former Italian team principal stopped the driver #16 and raised his finger to admonish him.

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In front of the cameras, Mattia Binotto explained that gesture: “What did I say to Charles? To calm down. He did a great race. Without the Safety Car, he would have surely won, he was ahead with a good advantage.”