At Ferrari, it’s all about “we need to understand,” even without Mattia Binotto: the revenge of the former team principal, now the head of Audi’s F1 programme. The departure of Mattia Binotto and his loyal collaborators — including Iñaki Rueda, now sporting director at the Four Rings — hasn’t been enough to rejuvenate Maranello. After the illusions of last season, the SF-25 has slipped back in the standings, battling with Williams, Racing Bulls, and Aston Martin for a place in Q3.
History repeats itself, between false hopes and scapegoats.
Binotto, Rueda, and others left Ferrari in a somewhat traumatic way: does the scapegoat principle apply in F1?
“It applies at Ferrari. It’s an Italian system that we also see in football, but it doesn’t solve anything.” – the former Ferrari team boss replied.
A system that “rules at Ferrari, entirely Italian, but doesn’t solve anything,” Mattia Binotto emphasized in an interview with Fulvio Solms for Corriere dello Sport. Today, the Italian engineer, born in 1969 and who spent his life at Maranello, is leading an ambitious project: to bring Audi into Formula 1 starting in 2026 and make it a winning team by 2030.
Alongside him is a diverse team, with people coming from all over the paddock (Jonathan Wheatley from Red Bull, James Key from McLaren), but also from his past experience with the Prancing Horse: “Inaki Rueda can give us what he gave — and what he could have continued to give — to Ferrari. I remember when we got some strategies wrong; it depends on a thousand factors, and from the outside, it’s always easy to judge.”
Leclerc, Hamilton, Sainz and… Verstappen: reflections between present and future
A long-time supporter of Carlos Sainz, the new COO and CTO of the Four Rings is certain: “Would I have kept him instead of Hamilton? I don’t think it’s right to judge others’ decisions. I’ll just say that Carlos, for me, remains a top-tier driver and will adapt very quickly at Williams, once again showing his worth.”
“In my time, I wouldn’t have gone after Max Verstappen or Adrian Newey. Not because I don’t consider them extraordinary, but because we were going through our own phase: at that moment, there was no need. Today, I’m not surprised to see Charles Leclerc going faster than Lewis Hamilton — he’s an incredibly strong driver — but it’s too early to say more: the picture may not be final.” – the Italian manager pointed out.
The Audi adventure, on the other hand, has big ambitions: “The rumours about Mercedes don’t scare us. Our path starts in 2026. Good for them if they are stronger — we’ll chase them down, and by 2030, which is our target for world championship goals, we’ll have the best engine.” – he added.
On Gabriel Bortoleto, he was more direct: “He’s our man for the future, but he’ll be an asset to all of Formula 1.”
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