Mattia Binotto’s resignation from the position of Ferrari team principal, which was officially confirmed this morning, certainly cannot be described as an unexpected announcement. The departure of the Italian engineer was in fact reported by most of the Italian and international media ever since the last round of the 2022 Formula 1 season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
It was therefore only a matter of time before the official confirmation was made. Mattia Binotto will continue to hold the role of team principal until the end of December, while Ferrari will confirm his successor at the beginning of January.
The Germans from ‘Auto, Motor und Sport’ have highlighted that Mattia Binotto’s departure has come “despite having achieved all the objectives set” for the 2022 Formula 1 season, due to Ferrari’s desire “to try a new guide for the team”, in contrast with the stability of main rivals Red Bull and Mercedes. For Andreas Haupt there are several aspects that have affected the relationship between Mattia Binotto and the top management, for example “too many errors in managing the race weekends, strategies and with the drivers”, as well as the development of the F1-75 which has “bogged down“.
For the German newspaper “the confidence of the top management had crumbled” for some time, since “in Maranello already last year they had approached Andreas Seidl and Christian Horner”, but “none of the top team principals dared to join Ferrari and this says a lot about the current state of the Scuderia”.
The British media outlet ‘The Race’ underlined how much Ferrari is “a national obsession”, but also that “the most harmful criticisms come from within”, recalling the previous leak in Abu Dhabi and suggesting that “one can think that the denial was an initiative of Mattia Binotto“.
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The Italian engineer had been in doubt since the beginning of the 2022 Formula 1 season according to The Race, although he has always “defended his team even in difficulties”. A team unity that, however, was not supported by the top management, given that “the connection between Mattia Binotto and John Elkann has never seemed particularly solid”. The English site then highlighted a point very dear to the British press: “Binotto has distanced himself from the culture of fear”, which would have been one of the distinctive notes of the Marchionne era, closing with an eloquent: “The real threat to Ferrari is Ferrari itself“, speaking openly of “friendly fire“ and interference from the upper management of the company.
The BBC followed the same line: “Mattia Binotto has tried to remove the atmosphere of fear and the blame culture”, but in Maranello “there was concern about the little progress in solving the team’s problems” because “this year in Ferrari seemed to change little despite the repeated mistakes” which “seem to have also worn out Charles Leclerc’s patience“; and The Mirror added: “Before Binotto there was a culture of firing and change, with alarming regularity.”
Autocar drew a parallel between football and Formula 1: “We are talking about a results-oriented business, just like the Premier League. Mattia Binotto has handed in his resignation as happens with football managers“, drawing a simile of past glory between Manchester United and Ferrari. The Spaniards of Marca spoke instead of “Pulcinella’s secret”, indicating the cause of the separation as being “the results” and “President Elkann’s lack of confidence”.
From France, Auto Hebdo highlighted “the messy management of the team and drivers” by Mattia Binotto, giving space to the “latest rumors from the paddock which anticipate that Frederic Vasseur will arrive”; while L’Equipe relied on a laconic “Ciao Binotto”, tracing the dissatisfaction with the team principal for “questionable strategic choices” and “a difficult last season”.
Finally, the well-known English journalist Joe Saward speaks of a “poisoned chalice” awaiting the successor of the Ferrari team principal.
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