Arrivabene replaced by Binotto at Ferrari?

Palace revolution in sight at Ferrari with the departure of Maurice Arrivabene, announced this Monday by La Gazzetta dello Sport. The Italian has been at the head of Gestione Sportiva since November 2014 and his appointment by Sergio Marchionne, former president of Ferrari who died last summer. His replacement would be none other than Mattia binotto, who until then held the position of technical director.

According to the Italian daily, tensions between the two men had increased in recent weeks. Because despite a SF71H very competitive in 2018, Ferrari once again returned empty-handed from a frustrating campaign notably marked by a litany of errors from its star driver Sebastian Vettel.

The management of the quadruple German world champion was also one of the big points of contention between Binotto and Arrivabene. Other sticking points concern the lack of development of the car over the last third of the past season, as well as the strategic approximations which cost the Scuderia precious points.

Former boss of the Ferrari engine department, Binotto was promoted to technical director during the 2016 season following the surprise departure of James Allison, now at Mercedes. Under Binotto's supervision, Ferrari has just produced two of its best cars over the past decade, even if the 2017 model suffered from culpable fragility at the end of the year. 

Last year, it was the human side who failed on the side of Maranello and prolonged a period of lean times that was increasingly unsustainable for a team as prestigious as the Scuderia. Maurizio Arrivabene, who spent his career in marketing at Ferrari's historic sponsor Philip Morris, is now paying the price.