Will Buxton hits out at Arrivabene: "His rule by fear fractured the team and failed his employers"

Pit lane reporter and Formula 1 journalist Will Buxton reflects on Mattia Binotto replacing Maurizio Arrivabene as Ferrari team principal:

History is unlikely to be kind to the Italian’s tenure as head of Formula 1’s most famous team, his four years in charge accounting for almost half of the Scuderia’s current championship dry spell. A divisive character, Arrivabene’s rule was uncompromising and, in many quarters, proved to be unpopular. And having failed once to capitalise on his team producing a car arguably the equal or better than that of their German rivals, it appears that his failure to do so a second time in 2018 was the final straw.

“Arrivabene had been involved with Ferrari for far longer than just his four years at the helm of the team. He joined Philip Morris over 20 years ago, rising within the company’s ranks to find himself sat at the table of the F1 Commission a decade later as representative of all the sport’s sponsors. It was this experience that was cited as one of the major factors in his appointment to the role of Team Principal, when he was given the opportunity by Sergio Marchionne, himself still settling into his new role as head of parent company Fiat Chrysler.

Despite Arrivabene’s initial public-facing moves being to play up to the fanbase and exude an aura of inclusion and friendliness, his first decisions, as observed by those of us who work inside the paddock, were completely at odds with the smiles and bravado. The walls, both physical and metaphorical, were quick to go up around the team. But far from creating a safe environment in which the once mighty outfit could rebuild, it appeared that what was being built was a system built on the fear of failure.

For some, Arrivabene was seen as little more than a Marchionne puppet and a man who simply did as he was ordered by a boss determined to obliterate the long shadow left by Luca di Montezemolo and establish his own legacy on the brand. Yet for others, the style of Arrivabene’s leadership was seen as being entirely of his own making. Those that had known him throughout his time with the team’s longest standing partner believed that what they were witnessing was the true side of the man, now emboldened by power and position.

Yet far from acting as a unifying force, many felt Arrivabene’s rule by fear fractured his team and ultimately failed his employers. The reality seemingly became one of a team that spent so long looking over its shoulder that it stumbled through not paying attention to what stood ahead. The frustrations created by fear ultimately seemed to reveal themselves as anger, the heavy burden being carried by both of the team’s drivers showing itself in the most public of fashions in radio messages which on face value were hyped as being little more than meme-worthy banter, yet under the surface spoke to deep division, disappointment and desperation.”