‘Mattia Binotto should retain his technical director responsibilities, but not manage the political side’. Gary Anderson on Mattia Binotto's position.

Semi-retired racing car designer and motorsport pundit/commentator Gary Anderson, the former technical director of Formula 1 teams Jordan and Stewart / Jaguar between 1991 and 2003, believes that Mattia Binotto’ double role as Scuderia Ferrari team principal, alongside the position of technical director, is not the best solution for the Italian side:

“If I had anything to do with it, I would put him back where he is good, in the technical department of the team, and I would either promote someone or bring someone into the team who can manage the political and business side,” Anderson writes in his current column on for ‘Autosport’.

“Ferrari has something to change, to say it’s a leaderless ship would be an exaggeration, but it’s going in the wrong direction. I do not want to point a finger at anyone, but Mattia Binotto has been given the responsibility, and so far that has not worked.”

Mattia Binotto, a 50-year-old engineer from Switzerland (born in Lausanne), has been working for Ferrari since 1995. In July 2016, he was promoted to Technical Director, when James Allison switched to Mercedes. Not even three years later, in January 2019, when the era of Maurizio Arrivabene came to an end, he suddenly became team boss.

Since Mattia Binotto has not nominated a Technical Director in his place, as he continues to be involved in and ultimately responsible for the technical management of the Ferrari team, his promotion has been criticized by media. Team principal and technical director at the same time cannot go well, many experts advised. And after Mattia Binotto’s first season, they feel they are right. gary Anderson says: “If Ferrari does not do something soon, then I’m pretty sure 2020 will be the same as in 2019. And considering the technical changes that are going to happen in 2021, then the stakes are even higher.” – he concluded.