Mattia Binotto: "Ferrari SF-23 is an evolution of F1-75, but it's not my car"

Mattia Binotto: “Ferrari SF-23 is an evolution of F1-75, but it’s not my car”. Mattia Binotto on Ferrari's 2023 car.

There was naturally a lot of anticipation for the 2023 Ferrari Formula 1, as is the case for all the other cars presented by the Maranello team during the years. This season, however, tells a different story, with one more intriguing chapter: last December Mattia Binotto resigned after almost three decades of working in Maranello and was replaced in the role of team principal by ex-Alfa Romeo boss Frederic Vasseur.

Considering that the Italian engineer has always been a highly debated topic that has divided fans in the last few years, there is now a lot of curiosity about the performance of the Ferrari SF-23 and how the Maranello team will perform in various key aspects once Mattia Binotto has gone: if things were to go well, especially in terms of car performance, who would get the credits? And if it goes wrong, will Fred Vasseur take the blame?

Logic dictates that it is the team which takes honors and criticism, and that talking about individuals – especially in this case – is misleading. Frederic Vasseur didn’t have the time to work on the SF-23: as far as the car itself is concerned, the Frenchman will only be able to influence the in-season developments. Meanwhile, Mattia Binotto is “moving away” from the car that he himself built together with the team in the second part of 2022: “In Formula 1 we don’t talk about an individual, but about an entire group. This is a car that was designed last year, when I was with Ferrari and it is an evolution of the 2022 challenger but it’s not my car, it’s the Ferrari car“, said the former Maranello team principal at the Panathlon Club in Parma, where he was guest together with Gian Paolo Dallara and Aldo Costa.

So if Formula 1 is a team effort, how much does the driver influence? “To win you always need to have the best car. The driver makes the difference for the last two tenths on the track. He makes the difference in terms of talent, driving ability and mentality. Because a driver must have that charisma that helps the whole team to keep improving. After all, he is the main figure in the team, he is one of the most important people, because he talks to journalists, to the senior management, to all his mechanics, to the team. So I think that a driver makes the difference on the track, but also in the ability to motivate and improve the team’s mentality” – ex-Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto concluded.