Binotto resigns as Ferrari boss after failed campaign
Ferrari Formula One boss Mattia Binotto has handed in his resignation and will leave at the end of the year, the 2022 championship runnersup said yesterday.
The news came after considerable media speculation that the 53-year-old, whose contract was due to expire at the end of 2023, had lost top level support after another failed title challenge.
“With the regret that this entails, I have decided to conclude my collaboration with Ferrari,” the Italian sportscar manufacturer quoted Binotto as saying in a statement announcing his departure.
“I am leaving a company that I love, which I have been part of for 28 years, with the serenity that comes from the conviction 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. I think it is right to take this step at this time, as hard as this decision has been for me.”
Ferrari said they had started the search for a replacement, likely to be finalised in the New Year.
Italian media have suggested Ferrari Chief Executive Benedetto Vigna could take on the role on an interim basis.
Frederic Vasseur, a Frenchman who runs Swiss-based Sauber and is principal of the Alfa Romeo team, has also been touted as a likely successor.
Ferrari made a strong start to this season after two years without a victory, but their hopes were dashed by mechanical unreliability, strategy errors and driver mistakes.
Although the Maranello-based team won four races, with Charles Leclerc taking three victories and nine pole positions to Carlos Sainz’s sole triumph, they were distant runners-up to dominant Red Bull and Max Verstappen.
Leclerc finished second overall, 146 points behind now double world champion Verstappen.
BRAWN RETIRES
Formula One managing director Ross Brawn said on Monday he was heading into retirement with the sport on a new path and as strong as it has ever been.
The 68-year-old Briton, one of the most respected and successful figures in Formula One and whose last race was this month’s Abu Dhabi seasonender, said it was time to pass the baton to others.