(Motorsport) Formula 1 team Scuderia Ferrari announced on Tuesday that Binotto is set to leave the Italian manufacturer after a three year stint as team principal. Despite making a bright start to the 2022 season, Formula 1’s most successful team failed to win any of their last 11 races and finished a distant second in the Constructors Standings. Loss in performance, strategy and reliability issues were some of the many reasons why they couldn’t maintain their title challenge but it was a disappointing season for Scuderia Ferrari nonetheless.
“When you are second with Ferrari, it is something that is not enough. I don’t want to get into the dynamic of the team, for sure I want to wish him the best for his future. I was in the same situation or position many years ago and I want to wish him to stay focused and believe in himself. And of course, on the other hand, I hope that Ferrari finds the right solution to stay on track because they made a big recovery from where they were two years ago.
“We need Ferrari to be competitive and we need to have a good team, strong team, strong drivers to fight against the others so that is really the wish I am hoping for. Well that is the dream. It is not a dream, it is more than a dream, I think it will happen. I am sure there will be more teams to fight for the first position and also to fight for other positions. The aim and the hope is to have the last race with the right fight, the right sporting fight and all the provisos are there. I am pretty sure everyone is waiting for the first race in Bahrain.”
Formula 1 Chief Executive Stefano Domenicalli
Binotto is set to leave his post on December 31st with Alfa Romeo boss Fred Vassuer being linked to replace him. It’s also understood that Binotto’s relationship with Charles Leclerc was strained beyond repair in the 2022 season but former World Champion Mika Hakkinen has expressed his doubts about that being a contributing factor for the Swiss-Italian engineer’s departure.
“I don’t know about that. I always thought when I was racing, it’s not a question about whether you like somebody, it’s a question of how good they are, how committed they are, how intelligent, how clever they are – that’s what matters. It doesn’t matter whether you like them or not. That doesn’t interfere with your success. You have to work in a team, you have to respect the people’s talent, knowledge, and their commitment to the sport, so I doubt it’s a true story.
“It’s very sad, I think he (Binotto) is a great personality, a great guy. Formula 1 is a very complicated sport, it requires three, four extremely talented people to run the team, to make a success. It’s not just one man or one woman who can run the team. It requires a number of individuals – different characters, different talents to be able to add and contribute to the team’s success.”
Former Formula 1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen
