Mattia Binotto: Ferrari needs F1 enjoyment that was ‘maybe missing’ before

Former chief technical officer Binotto has assumed his new role after the departure of Maurizio Arrivabene, who came under scrutiny last season as Ferrari’s title challenge fell apart and Arrivabene became more vocal and critical in the media.

Binotto’s technical leadership helped Ferrari establish itself as a regular race winner again but the Italian wants team members to appreciate competing with one another beyond the joy of success.

“Several years we’ve been working all together, trying to improve step by step, season by season,” said Binotto after the launch of Ferrari’s 2019 car, the SF90 – “The philosophy for next season certainly is try to enjoy [it]. That’s something that we were maybe missing in the past.

“Certainly we are enjoying winning, but I think you can simply enjoy by trying to be teammates, something which we are trying to consolidate, let’s say.”

Binotto has helped coordinate two significant Ferrari turnarounds in the V6 turbo-hybrid era.

First, he helped the engine department recover from Ferrari’s mistake of not preparing for the new engine rules appropriately in 2014, and when he then moved into his CTO role Binotto was a key factor in Ferrari’s emergence as a serious Mercedes threat in 2017 and 2018.

It has been suggested that Ferrari may not getthe most out of Binotto in a team boss role, or suffer from losing him as a dedicated technical chief.

Mattia Binotto said: “It’s true they are very different jobs. I’m lucky because I’ve got a very strong team. I think each individual knows exactly what to do so it’s not me sustaining them, it’s them sustaining me. Binotto said: “It’s true they are very different jobs.

“I’m lucky because I’ve got a very strong team. I think each individual knows exactly what to do so it’s not me sustaining them, it’s them sustaining me.