Binotto resigns as Ferrari team principal after team falls short in title fight

2022 F1 season

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Ferrari have announced team principal Mattia Binotto has resigned from his role following the disappointing conclusion to their 2022 season.

The team says it has has begun a process to decide on his replacement and it intends to announce who will take over from Binotto in the new year.

“With the regret that this entails, I have decided to conclude my collaboration with Ferrari,” said Binotto in a statement issued by Ferrari.

“I am leaving a company that I love, which I have been part of for 28 years, with the serenity that comes from the convinction [sic] that I have made every effort to achieve the objectives set.

“I leave a united and growing team. A strong team, ready, I’m sure, to achieve the highest goals, to which I wish all the best for the future.”

Binotto’s resignation comes following a disappointing 2022 season, which saw Ferrari’s strong championship challenge at the start of the year fade away as rivals Red Bull turned dominant. The team received heavy criticism by fans and commentators in the motorsport media following a catalogue of operational errors with the team during the season, from reliability problems, race-ending mistakes by drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jnr, poor strategy calls and problems with pit stops.

“I think it is right to take this step at this time as hard as this decision has been for me,” Binotto concluded. “I would like to thank all the people at the Gestione Sportiva who have shared this journey with me, made up of difficulties but also of great satisfaction.”

Just two weeks ago, Ferrari dismissed speculation in the Italian media over Binotto’s future within the team, describing reports that Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur was set to replace Binotto as the team’s principal as “rumours” that were “totally without foundation”. Speaking ahead of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last weekend, Binotto said he had discussed the reports with Elkann to “discuss openly what was the best way to move forward” before releasing the statement.

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Binotto led the team over the last four seasons, having taken up the role of team principal in January 2019. In 2020 the team suffered its worst season for 40 years, having reached a confidential agreement with the FIA after the governing body probed the design of its power unit.

He joined Ferrari’s F1 programme in 1995 as a test team engineer, before moving into the race team in the same role. In 2007 Binotto was promoted to chief engineer for race and assembly, before becoming head of engine and KERS operations in 2009.

He continued to rise through Ferrari’s technical ranks, becoming deputy director of engine and electronics in 2013 before a further promotion to chief operating officer of the team’s power unit. Finally, he spent two-and-a-half years as Ferrari’s chief technical officer before his appointment to team principal in early 2019.

In 2022, Ferrari finished second in the constructors’ championship, 205 points behind champions Red Bull despite being only 56 adrift at the mid point of the season. The team won four races during the season – three for Leclerc and one for Sainz – all of which came during the first half of the championship.

Binotto’s departure means Ferrari will head into the 2023 season with their fifth team principal in nine years, following Stefano Domenicali, Marco Mattiacci, Maurizio Arrivabene and Binotto.

Ferrari’s CEO Benedetto Vigna thanked Binotto “for his many great contributions over 28 years with Ferrari and particularly for leading the team back to a position of competitiveness during this past year.

“As a result, we are in a strong position to renew our challenge, above all for our amazing fans around the world, to win the ultimate prize in motorsport. Everyone here at the scuderia and in the wider Ferrari community wishes Mattia well for the future.”

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Will Wood
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88 comments on “Binotto resigns as Ferrari team principal after team falls short in title fight”

  1. Wow I was expecting him to resign as Team Principal but he is also leaving Ferrari that’s unexpected for me. I doubt it will be difficult for him to find a job in F1 in a technical role despite the let down of 2022.

    1. I‘ll be surprised to find him in the paddock in the near future.
      He’s probably pretty tired after trying to lead the team that Ferrari is, with all the pressures and criticism. And then also sticking around would mean taking a step back – there’s really nowhere higher up to go, and the only sideways positions are occupied by Toto and Horner (and whoever else you throw into the “top” pile)

      I think he’ll just do something else.
      I’d probably do a lot of reading and traveling if I was him eh

      1. I actually think that he will be back in the paddock as soon as his gardening leave period ends @minilemm, he is a really good tech guy and I wouldn’t say he did too bad this year, given we are talking about Ferrari.

        For the team, I think this means they might actually be going to feel the pressure from the likes of Alpine and McLaren over the next 2 years. It will take time to find a new team boss, they do not seem to have one in the company (or is the Ferrari boss going to run things? That will surely work great) and the top guys inside the paddock don’t seem too keen to join a team like Ferrari which comes with the snake pit internal politics attached.

        1. I don’t doubt his competence. Or even results.
          I just think if I was him I’d probably be sick of it

    2. There is a CEO job opening at Juventus.

      1. Coventry Climax
        29th November 2022, 13:19

        What’s a Juventus?

        1. What’s a Juventus?

          Not sure, but I don’t think it has wheels.

          1. Might be a boat?

    3. He will be working soon.
      Ferrari made a change for change sake.
      They are the big losers.
      Back to the midfield for Ferrari.
      Senseless.

    4. I think a team would be mad not to sign Binotto to be honest only in a technical position though. The only person who could totally change Ferrari would be Ross Brawn

      1. The only person who could totally change Ferrari would be Ross Brawn

        Now, I don’t think you intended to, but you have indicated when the rot started – when someone way up the tree decided that they needed to ‘purify’ the team and promote Italians at the expense of talent.
        Not that there aren’t talented Italians, just that the nationality of one candidate became more important than the talent of an alternative.

        1. Actually Swiss born Italian for what’s it’s worth.
          And who is your alternative if I may ask?

          1. And who is your alternative if I may ask

            Let me get back to you when they have sent me a set of resumes for the available candidates, with the nationality/ethnic/gender elements on the front page removed.
            We can then pass the info round and select a short list based on talent only.

            Like I said elsewhere, Binotto has spent his time largely hamstrung by the policies pushed down to him by people more interested in the ethos of nationality than talent. Could someone else have done better? Possibly, but I think they would have spent a lot of time arguing with their boss(es) and maybe found themselves “seeking new opportunities”

  2. So Donkies are back to their old ways of kicking out personalle when things dont work out.

    1. Indeed. Ferrari seem to think that they’re a football team and that sacking the manager is the way forward.
      I predict Mercedes back up to 2nd next season as Ferrari waste yet another year rebuilding.

      1. @eurobrun

        Mercedes was already up to #2 in the last few races of the season, and I can’t see them ever slipping behind an incompetent Ferrari.
        I don’t think Binotto leaving will have any effect on their WCC rankings next year. They will finish at P3 in the WCC regardless of who the team principal is.
        I think it’s a good decision to get rid of Binotto. If he’s never going to be capable of giving them a championship, better to get rid of him sooner rather than later.

    2. This. This is again oversimplifying the situation by Ferrari. By doing this they have just thrown away 2023. This team is fastly becoming one of the biggest jokes in F1 history. Such a shame. We all saw it coming. Five in nine years. Anyone can tell you that is the default for continued failure. This company is so old skool it is almost evaporated.

      1. Five in nine years is technically true, but there have only really been two team principals in the hybrid-era: Arrivabene and Binotto. Domenicali ‘resigned’ early on in 2014, and Mattiacci was a short-term fixer of sorts.

        Stability is only good when the people a team keeps are delivering results. Stability didn’t work for Williams, McLaren, or Renault. Even Red Bull has done a ton of restructuring over the years while their top leadership remained in place (while they failed to put together a notable challenger for seven years in a row).

        Also, Binotto has overseen not just one, but four failed F1 campaigns from 2019 through 2022. He may be a great engineer, but this doesn’t seem to be the right job for him.

        1. @MichealN you seem to be contradicting yourself a bit mate.
          You said “Stability is only good when the people a team keeps are delivering results. ”
          then said:
          “Even Red Bull has done a ton of restructuring over the years while their top leadership remained in place (while they failed to put together a notable challenger for seven years in a row).”
          So in the 7 years without a win Horner remained at the Helm while Red Bull lost. That’s a little more than half the time that Binotto was in the job!
          I think what’s important is trajectory and there is no doubt that Ferrari has been on the up. The car at the start of the season was fast and seemed capable at varied tracks. That says Engineering was sound. The trajectory of development waned in the second half of the season relative to Mercedes and Red Bull: that is almost certainly a budget management situation. I wouldn’t put that on Binotto. (Also, we have to see whether anyone overspent this year

          Ferrari strategy calls were a mess and deprived them of several wins/podiums: some changes were definitely needed there and if Binotto was unwilling/incapable of making those changes then he should go.
          But in the grand scheme I would have given him another year if he had a solid plan for enhancing pitwall management. Trajectory was definitely up and to the right year-over-year!

    3. Yup. Good chance for both McLaren and for Alpine (and AM might fancy their chances too) to overhaul them in the next few years.

  3. Sadly Ferrari doesn’t seem to get the hint from Red Bull. Sticking to your people, when capable enough will yield results in the end. 2023 seems to me as a lost year already…

    1. Yeah, seems a fair bet to me as well

    2. @afonic
      There is the wrong perception that RBR is a stable team because the likes of Horner, Marko and Newey… are still in their positions. RBR has gone through multiple restructures in almost all the departments in the last decade. Their entire pitwall, mechanics, team leaders are different to what they were from the Vettel era. I would say Mercedes are more stable from that point of view.

    3. @afonic I don’t think sticking to people is the key but constructive criticism. Ferrari doesn’t accept any, defending a poor choice when Red Bull or Mercedes can reckon there was better on the table either they missed it, didn’t see it, simulations were saying otherwise, whatever the reason they will have a look at improving.

      At the start of the season, it looked like Ferrari had a proper shot this year only to throw so many opportunities away and not acknowledging them to improve and stay up. In F1, if you don’t improve fast enough, you’re moving backwards compare to the field.

      They need to find back their fighting attitude if they hope to get back on top. Can’t remember a year when they outperformed Red Bull and Mercedes on development through the year.

    4. @afonic

      Sticking to your people, when capable enough

      Binotto wasn’t capable enough though. He had a championship contending car, and he didn’t even mount a challenge. He made amateurish mistakes in strategy, team operations, driver management, etc. throughout the year. Most of those mistakes he didn’t even acknowledge as mistakes, which shows that he isn’t capable of learning and improving.

      This is the best thing Ferrari could have done. It might hamper their near future, but will set them up to be serious contenders after a couple of seasons.

  4. there is no reason why not to win 10 races from now to the end

    Ferrari have wasted championship-winning car in 2022. From drivers, to operations, to strategy and finally team principal, they were all embarassed by Max and Red Bull. But don’t even think for a moment someone like Vasseur, who is even more incompenent (they couldn’t even fix drinks bottle for Kimi in 2 years, haha), will get Ferrari back to glory days. Max is just The Greatest of All Time and unbeatable.

    1. Ferrari have wasted championship-winning car in 2022. From drivers, to operations, to strategy and finally team principal, they were all embarassed by Max and Red Bull.

      For the first time that I’ve seen, you were on track with coverage of some of the faults.
      Then you spoiled it all by leaking the normal fanaticism regarding Max & RBR.

      This has nothing to do with either the brat or his adoring employers. The problems at Ferrari are all of their own making and stem from their employment strategy as defined by people further up the tree.

      1. Indeed, and it says a lot they risked to lose 2nd place to merc with the car merc started with.

  5. It seems no one can tame the beast that is Ferrari ‘s internal culture. Not an Italian, specially.

    Leclerc and his manager Todt must be suggesting Vasseur, hence all the rumors. Jost Capito or even Seidl could join Sauber with a hand of Audi.

    But I would love to see STEINER managing Ferrari. Don’t you?

    1. Seldi has been approached apparently and has thankfully turned it down. Steiner would be a great choice though.

    2. How competent is steiner? I wasn’t impressed by his driver managing decisions at least in the last few years.

      1. Steiner’s a joke. His only competency is his ability to curse on camera for Netflix.

  6. I can’t decide whether Ferrari are tragedy or comedy.

    Binotto seemed to have at last understood the necessity and style needed to build a team but his bosses haven’t.

    1. Ferrari are both at the same time, it’s what makes them unique

  7. I hope its not Leclerc suggesting the change. If it is, he is becoming the next Alonso.

    1. I’m sure he had influence.
      Not fair to put Alonso in LeCler’s class. ALO won championships and is a proven talent.
      LeClerc is fast but has had his fair share of screw ups. He hasn’t matured and time is running out.
      He’d better step up his game next year – no Binotti to blame.

      1. I think it’s fair to compare leclerc with alonso, leclerc also excelled when the car was there, he just keeps consistently getting a bad car, or like this year, a good car with a bad pit wall and development.

  8. Elkann strikes hard this time. Yesterday the entire Juventus board of directors including his cousin Andrea Agnelli and Maurizio Arrivabene have resigned. As for Binotto I wish him all the best. A brilliant engineer and a big loss for the company from a technical point of view.

    As a team principle, he has consistently proved to be inadequate for the role. He is a serious and competent engineer though all the recurrent mistakes made during the season show that he failed to implement a valid process, or to hire the right people with regard to racing operations (strategy, pitstops, communications, reactivity…).

    For me personally, he also failed with regard to managing drivers too. Ferrari do have 2 solid drivers. Charles is fast but is a nice guy. Carlos is slower but he is politicized and is buying his way into the team thanks to his father who knows how to play the game. Though this is nothing compared to the complexity of managing Hamilton-Rosberg line-up or drivers with the personality of Fernando Alonso or Max Verstappen.

    Moreover, Binotto seems to lack the ruthlessness and political skills that other team principles have, especially Wolff and Horner. In short, an excellent technician but, as everyone had commented from the beginning, perhaps not suitable for the job. I can’t see how the new team principle especially if recruited from outside the team will do worse than him but Elkann is sending a clear message here, no more shenanigans with regard to racing operations.

    1. Spot on. I’m a bit puzzled by the comments about sticking with Binotto because of consistency. When someone is consistently poor at their job, what makes you think extra years are going to change the quality of their work? Four years should be enough to evaluate someone’s performance and prospects, should it not?

      I agree that he’s failed to properly manage several aspects of the team to the point where winning became an impossibility despite the cards falling entirely their way over the winter. F1TV had Jolyon Palmer do a season review and by all accounts, Ferrari had a fast car throughout the season, they were the baseline in speed. However you try to spin it, the fact that they were fighting with Mercedes of 2nd instead of being well clear is a failure in itself, let alone not being able to mount a proper WDC challenge. With that car, Verstappen and Red Bull should never have had both championships in the bad by mid-season… And they even threw away two years of development in 2020 and 21 for this year’s car. That’s a gross failure to do the job, and it’s not really a surprise that Binotto lost the job over it.

      You are spot on in saying that Ferrari need a consistent manager on the level of Wolff and Horner and that Binotto simply isn’t that. Consistency is great, but you need more than just longevity.

      1. in the bag*

      2. @sjaakfoo
        I would say that a manager in Ferrari should have an impact on the team or the department he is heading in just 6 months. I’m not talking here about winning races or championships but about improvements. Ross Brawn for me has always been the reference. From the moment he start a new challenge improvements are made straightaway.

        With Binotto in charge, Ferrari seem to have made a step back on what they were with Arrivabene in terms of racing operations and managing drivers. Credit to Binotto for the step forward in terms of design and PU but that’s not related to the team principle’s job description.

        As for the political skills, look at all the recent technical directives. They are all engineered by either RBR or Mercedes. Ferrari are always on the receiving end with the exception of the trick suspension and the letter Simone Resta wrote to the FIA at the start of the 2017 season and that was because Ferrari were having a similar system to implement and it was blatantly against the rules.

        Horner lobbied hard for example so the “party mode” will get banned simply because Honda doesn’t have one. He got the engine freeze regime implemented because RBR cannot develop the current PUs. A formula with no engine development and the chassis and aero are only the differentiator factor ; sound familiar, no ?

        Wolff for example managed to scrap Ferrari development plans in both 2017 and 2018 (flexi floor, oil burn, ERS deployment…). He also managed to target RBR last year (bendy wings, tyre pressure, pitstops…).

        Ferrari this year did have the best all around car till Spa Francorchamps when the TD039 was introduced. It contained 2 stipulations, the first was the plank-wear related measure and the second is the anti-porpoising measure that was orchestrated by Mercedes and which made the entire design concept of the F1-75 obsolete.

        Even with the fastest car in F1 and a solid team, winning the championship is not guaranteed because there are always things happening behind the scenes. Mid-season rule changes and technical directives that can change the running order overnight are frequent. A successful team principle should provide the right environment for his engineers to innovate and isolate exterior interference.

        Another thing is, Ferrari this year have failed to place Giovinazzi, Schumacher and Schwartzman in Haas despite their deep partnership. The reason is the bad relationship between Binotto and Steiner. Steiner have signed Hulkenberg who is sponsored by Vasseur.

        1. +1 wholeheartedly agree @tifoso1989.
          Enjoy your posts.

          Are you available for the position, or do you value your sanity more.

          You seem the type of person Ferrari need.

          Doesn’t matter who I support, a strong winning Ferrari team is good for F1.
          Hope to see those stickers of “equines rampant with hooves sinister” successful as soon as 2023 and beyond.

        2. @jjohn

          Thank you for your comment !

          I can tell you from my personal experience that there is nothing like being in good health physically and mentally. I wouldn’t exchange that even for president of the world. Besides, I’m a hot headed unorthodox guy. I’m a 100% sure that despite being a die-hard Ferrari fan, I won’t fit into the company culture :)

      3. @sjaakfoo This is exactly right. Four years is a long time, especially in a leadership role. If it takes a top manager four years for the company to see results, that’s just not good enough. And it’s not like this is a one-thing problem. Ferrari has failed on many fronts under Binotto’s leadership (as @tifoso1989 already noted).

        He set an ultimatum in 2018 that he could do better than Arrivabene if given full control. He got the chance, it didn’t work out. Makes sense for Ferrari to give someone else a chance now. Hopefully someone with a bit more of a business mindset than an engineering one. You can hire engineers and shield them from the politics, but a team principal has to be able to get rough with guys like Wolff, the FIA, and the like.

        1. Yes, I think so too, consistently bad leaders have to be replaced, just like red bull’s drivers, some people said to give more time to albon, gasly, hartley, but they just weren’t improving and now at least they have a decent number 2.

  9. Same old Ferrari…

    I’d have stuck with him they are heading in the right direction, now they have to rebuild…again.

  10. Is this the new impossible job? Reminds me of how England football managers used to be treated!

  11. Another poor strategic call by Ferrari.

  12. Ferrari being Ferrari. Or shall I just say “Essere Ferrari”.

  13. Wouldn’t be surprised if Mercedes picks him up

    1. Mercedes giving him a contractual arrangements like Red bull is in with Adrian Newey. it will be a great addition to the engine department

      1. *arrangement

  14. Ferrari surely have to look outside of the company for their next leader. Its cute that they internally promote and you see a lowly engineer work their way up over the many years, but they keep getting it wrong for whatever reason. Time for new eyes and fresh ideas to take Ferrari forward.

    1. Ferrari were adamant when Binotto was appointed they would go back to only Italian leadership as they were an Italian team.

      That ignored the fact that their most recent period of spectacular success was under the leadership of an Italian, two Brits and a Frenchman with a German driver. You really don’t have to be clever to see the lesson. The best person for the job should be their mantra for all levels in the team, not the right nationality, not support for the right faction in the infighting (which has started up in full swing again otherwise this resignation wouldn’t have happened), the right accent or whatever factions are now fighting.

      1. Bruce McKnight
        30th November 2022, 0:10

        100%. Lets see if Elkann wants to lead a great Italian team or a championship team!

        1. Carlo Ancelotti will do well if appointed.

  15. If I were Ferrari I’d be trying like hell to prise Horner loose from RBR or possibly Toto from Merc.
    They won’t, they’ll put in an unknown and we’ll have another 10 years of chaos.

    1. Yeah they need an outside hire and they need to give them free reign to change the team and how it operates and communicates and to change the power dynamic that possibly exists. Mercedes and Red Bull just feel so professional where’s Ferrari for so long now has felt like a bit of a clown show, the baton being passed down principal after principal. Look out with the team and change the team culture top down and bottom up. It’s clearly got something fundamentally lacking or causing issues that no one has dared tackle yet.

    2. According to @dieterrencken they tried that, but Horner did not want to burn his fingers on the snake pit politics despite huge salary offers @davidhunter13, @dbradock

  16. I think this demonstrates that Ferrari is too political an organisation, and too susceptible to media and public pressure, grinding through Team Principals the way the Torry Party grinds through Party Leaders and PMs.

  17. A bad move unless the next person is ready and able (allowed) to genuinely shake things up. Binotto could have and should have learned from his and other’s mistakes because they are so close to having it but clearly something isn’t quite right, I’d hazard a guess there’s something culturally at the heart of the team to blame.

    If the new guy can change that culture then maybe they have a chance. If it’s going to be a year plus of them bedding in and the same mistakes from 2022 being carried forward then being a Ferrari fan just became even more tiring than it already was.

    Horner and Wolff just seem to have that special something while Ferrari look like absolute clowns again and again and again.

  18. Binotto was both a victim and an enabler of the toxic blame culture at Ferrari.

    He was often quite willing to throw his team under the bus when things didn’t go right. It was a learned behaviour from decades of being a company man. That meant that no-one in the team was willing to make bold calls. They knew if they were wrong, they would be blamed. How many times did we hear the engineers asking the driver’s opinions on strategy?

    Eventually, the number of indecisive moments piles up so that the only common denominator is the team principal.

    The Scuderia works best when outsiders run the show. People that don’t care what the Italian media says. People that will have their team member’s backs and empower them.

  19. @tifoso1989,
    He’s out then.

  20. Unpopular opinion: If Vettel wasn’t kicked out of Ferrari they would be constructors champions this year and possibly drivers champions as well with the car they had.

    1. Impossible, Vettel has passed his prime, slight lack of focus so making some unforced error, probably 1 or 2 win at max if he drove for this season (refer Kimi’s final season with Ferrari)

    2. The drop in performance Vettel had in 2020 always seemed suspect, and given he has since put in a bunch of stellar drives in that Aston Martin (smaller teams rarely allow drivers to shine in all races), something weird seems to have been going on in that season after he was crudely announced as being dropped. He and Leclerc were also very close in 2019, as was expected from such a combination of older and new talent (see champion Alonso & rookie Hamilton, and champion Hamilton and new-guy Russell).

      Ferrari under Binotto was determined to get rid of Vettel. Which is fair enough, but it becomes more questionable if the replacement isn’t really delivering the hoped for results.

  21. Unsurprising in the end. I’ll miss “I shink” & “let me say”

  22. I thought they might have stuck with Binotto but brought in other people below him to manage and improve key areas. He did not do well this year but this decision probably means 2023 is going to be written-off as well.

    Two things I think are important. They should not promote from within again and they should try to appoint someone who is used to a team principal role. I don’t think they can afford to give their new person a year to learn how to do it.

  23. And the musical chairs at Ferrari continues. This isn’t anything new. Binotto surely deserves to leave though. What I particularly disliked about Binotto was his lack of emotion. Even when Ferrari committed mammoth strategy blunders and threw away victories, Binotto’s face never showed any regret or frustration. The last time Ferrari had a spell of success was when non-Italians were at the helm – Jean Todt, Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne from 1998 to 2004. Too bad, for them, that Christian Horner is locked up at Red Bull.

    1. This is a good point as well, if you don’t believe you made a mistake you won’t work on correcting it either.

  24. It didn’t look good when he missed so many GP weekends or when he said he didn’t need to change any personnel after so many massively glaring errors during the season.

    He has been with the team a long time, I think a few years before Schumacher showed up if I remember correctly so I am surprised Ferrari didn’t offer to put him back into a technical role like he was in before, but perhaps they did and he wasn’t interested.

    I never understood why they got rid of Maurizio “This is not Circus Soleil” Arrivabene personally, in 2017 and 2018 Ferrari were very strong and arguably could have won 1/2 if Vettel hadn’t made such massive mistakes (Singapore 2017 & Germany, Monza 2018). Perhaps Binotto disagreed with his leadership and Ferrari decided to give him a chance to see if he could do any better and because he didn’t they might be thinking about reinstating Arrivabene.

    1. Arrivabene? Dear God please no!

      1. Why not? With arrivabene ferrari brought some pretty good cars for 2 years and in 2018 uniquely from every recent year, including 2022, the car was competitive till the end, they just made a development mistake after vettel’s constant spins, as soon as they reverted they were competitive again, think it was around russia where they had 3 uncompetitive races.

        1. This is not Circus Soleil

          1. With rain bucketing down during the United States Grand Prix weekend for most of Friday and Saturday, some teams decided to have some fun in the COTA pitlane to keep the few fans in the stands entertained as delays ensued, notably Ferrari did not partake in the frolics and team boss Maurizio Arrivabene explained why.

            “First of all we are a Formula 1 team and not Cirque du Soleil,” said Arrivabene. There is something that people notice and something that is bigger but people don’t notice.”

            “The fact that they’re there,” he said of the fun and games, “somebody was entertaining the public, it’s absolutely fine.”

            Ferrari pit gantry

            “But nobody was out there when we stand and we sign all the autographs to the people that were waiting. Nobody was there when we took some of the children in wheelchairs to our box.”

            “We prefer to do these things instead of simulate fishing or the other things. I mean they’re funny on television but they’re giving smiles without doing something really for the fans,” argued the Italian.

            Pitlane merriment included simulated boat races, model making, football, break-dancing and even some cool moves by Red Bull teammates Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat.

            Sky Sport pundit Martin Brundle had a dig at Arrivabene’s reasoning, “Sorry Ferrari but I loved the ingenuity of teams and drivers in the car-less qualifying of Austin. Cirque du Soleil is brilliant, you were boring.”

  25. I wouldn’t write off 2023 at all. They’ll still have good drivers and in all probability a good car. A new team principal should be able to sort out strategy and operations quickly.

  26. What sent Ferrari’s season skidding off track were poor strategy decisions and driver mistakes. Then came the new FIA directives on porpoising, which seemed to make things worse, ending any effective challenge. Were Ferrari worse than Mercedes? Actually a lot better. Yet Wolff is obviously still kept.
    One thing Binotto did achieve was a good balance with his drivers – i.e. he kept their rivalry in check despite the disgruntled moments from both. Somehow I doubt the next team principal will manage the same. Leclerc is the star but Sainz is more canny within the team and Leclerc more a loner. If next season sees Ferrari drop to third, behind Mercedes, they could be left having to manage a Leclerc starting to look for a way out. I don’t see this ending well.

    1. @david-br Wolff owns a large part of the team, so unless the other shareholders conspire against him he’s not going anywhere.

      Leclerc is indeed in a tough spot. If he’s too good, he makes other people at Ferrari look bad. People with more political weight than him, people who are craftier at playing the social game. Ferrari’s next team principal will have to sit everyone down and make it clear that unless Sainz massively improves, Leclerc is the lead driver at Ferrari. And that has consequences for who gets which updates first, who gets priority on tough strategy calls, etc. Leclerc doesn’t seem to have the skills or character to throw his weight around, so someone else will have to do it for him. Because there is no doubt that he is the quickest driver they have.

  27. They should have kept Binotto and fired Iñaki Rueda, but for some reason there is no culpability at all for the Head of Race Strategy :/

    1. Definitely that should’ve been the first victim.

    2. Well didn’t Binotto say himself there was nothing wrong with the strategist team? Got rid of him now. They go hand in hand.

    3. I’d fire them both personally.

  28. They might’ve been boring Martin but they were professional. I don’t remember too many GPs Arrivabene missed. He was dedicated to Ferrari. He did nothing wrong in 2017 or 2018 so why replace him then with Binotto? It’s all BS.

  29. Binotto drove an Alfa Romeo or Fiat that broke down on the way to one of the GPS last year.

  30. I have an opinion
    30th November 2022, 3:46

    If John Elkann wants Ferrari to win, he must appoint the right person and then leave them alone to do their job. This is not necessarily the position of Team Principal, if he thinks that position is too lowly to have autonomy. Ferrari may need their own separate Chairman again. Someone like Montezemolo.

  31. Its unfortunate for ferrari whwre they were when he became team principal and where they are now is worlds apart. Abit disappointed, yes this year ferrari have been plagued with multiple self inflicted errors but they were back at the sharp end. Could have been down to unfamiliarity for being so far behind for soo many years.

  32. Carlo Ancelotti will do well if appointed.

  33. I wonder if ferrari would have meant to get Binotto in place just to get levelled up on a technical side and chance it as head.
    And then have someone dedicated to leading once that technical base is sorted.
    Might be giving way more credit than due.

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