WHO IS MATTIA BINOTTO?

The initial signs have been good. Unof cial reports emerging from his rst meeting with rivals in the role of team principal say Mattia Binotto has shown more understanding of F1’s bigger picture than his Ferrari successor. That’s probably because he’s been with the team since 1995 and is a racer peering studiously through his Harry Potter-style spectacles rather than playing out the role of Yes Man responding solely to his commercially minded masters.

Binotto is highly motivated and intelligent, and quick to understand the various challenges that have been presented to the Swiss-italian engineer from Lausanne, where he obtained a degree in vehicle engineering, followed across the Italian border by a masters in motorvehicle engineering at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.

Binotto’s initial period at Ferrari coincided with the arrival of Michael Schumacher, followed by Ross Brawn as technical chief and the glorious period in the late 1990s and the rst half of the 2000s. In 2014, he became head of the engine department, just after the introduction of the current turbo formula. Binotto was responsible for turning the department around following a disastrous rst year in 2013 with the hybrid power unit.

Binotto’s work in helping make Ferrari a serious contender to match Mercedes earned him the position of technical direc- tor following the departure of James Allison in the summer of 2016. There was immediate scepticism inside and outside the team due to zero experience leading the design of an entire car. But Binotto didn’t see himself as an Adrian Newey.

“I’m certainly not an expert in all areas,” Binotto conceded in an interview with Autosport. “Twenty ve years of experience in F1; great time with Michael Schumacher, but always a power unit man. When I grew up in that nal role, I think what was important for me was to set the objectives and to make sure the people were comfortable in their role, understood the internal process and worked better, not only as individuals, but as a team.

“All the effort,” he continued, “is to build the team as a team and set the right objectives, deal with them, try to be ambitious. I think that’s somehow what happened in the last two years. I think it’s fair to say that our team, in terms of individuals, is very strong. We’ve got high skills; it’s a fantastic team in that respect.”