Ferrari and Mattia Binotto, it's over.
The director of the Italian Formula 1 team, in office since 2019, presented his resignation on Tuesday, which was widely expected in the paddock after another disappointing season at the Scuderia.
"Ferrari announces that it has accepted the resignation of Mattia Binotto who, on December 31, will leave his duties as
Team Principal
of the team", explained the Italian team in a press release, without having named his replacement for the moment.
BREAKING: Mattia Binotto will leave his position as Ferrari team principal at the end of 2022#F1 pic.twitter.com/wVzdS12IcG
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 29, 2022
The 53-year-old Italian, often criticized this season, is paying for his failure to regain the world title despite a clearly improved single-seater in 2022. At the head of sports management, Binotto has certainly had his best result this season, 2nd in the championship pilots with the Monegasque Charles Leclerc, and 2nd of the constructors.
But he again failed to bring Ferrari back to the top against Red Bull and Max Verstappen, crowned world champions.
Above all, after a superb start to the season, the changes made were not effective enough and many choices on the track were much debated.
Confirmed in September by John Elkann, the president of the Ferrari company, Binotto had been given on the departure mid-November by the Gazzetta dello Sport.
Friday, other titles of the Italian press had announced it, before the formalization on Tuesday.
"We want to thank Mattia for his many essential contributions during his 28 years at Ferrari, in particular what he does to enable the team to be competitive again in the season that has just ended," said Benedetto Vigna. , managing director of the Ferrari group, quoted in the press release.
“I leave a united team that has grown, a team that is strong and ready, I am sure, to achieve the greatest possible success.
I believe that this decision (to leave) is the right one, even if it was difficult to take,” said Binotto.
The famous brand with the prancing horse has not won the driver's title since 2007 with the Finn Kimi Räikkönen, and that of the constructors since 2008, against McLaren.
Arrived in 1995 at Ferrari as an engine engineer, Binotto rose through the ranks of the Scuderia until becoming technical director in 2016. In 2019, he replaced Maurizio Arrivabene after two new failures in 2017 and 2018, when Sebastian Vettel had to step down. admit defeat by Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes).
Binotto will not have done better, on the contrary: still 2nd among the manufacturers in 2019, behind Mercedes and ahead of Red Bull, Ferrari had its worst year in 2020 since 1980, finishing only 6th in the championship.
The most successful stable in history with 16 coronations and 242 victories, Ferrari will have to quickly regain stability before the start of the season on March 5 in Bahrain.
The name of Binotto's successor is not yet known.
"The process to identify the new
team principal
has begun and should be completed early next year," Ferrari said simply.
One name comes up often, that of Frenchman Frédéric Vasseur, director of the Alfa Romeo team, powered by Ferrari.
And very close to Jean Todt, the French boss of the Scuderia when it often won, with Michael Schumacher at the wheel.
