Mattia Binotto towards the exit?

Ferrari Sports Management Director Mattia Binotto to be in Abu Dhabi this weekend for Commission meeting F1 obliged. A presence at a Grand Prix that has become rare in recent weeks. Hence the increasingly persistent rumors of a change at the head of the Team. The numerous incidents having thwarted the 2022 course of the Reds, and relations which are said to be increasingly tense with Charles Leclerc, seem to have got the better of the patience of John Elkann, President of Ferrari.

According to sources close to Maranello, the time is no longer for dialogue but for separation arrangements. A divorce which, if it really takes place, will undoubtedly be most painful for both parties since between the engineer who arrived in Fiorano in 1995 and the heir of the Agnelli clan, ties have been established over the years.

Mattia Binotto in the hot seat

Moreover, despite the increasing criticism directed towards Mattia Binotto, John Elkann had always supported the man who was previously technical director of the Italian team. According to our same sources, it was the Silverstone Grand Prix, where Charles Leclerc seemed able to win before suffering the strategic pangs of his team, which would have weighed heavily in a decision which requires confirmation. Perhaps in the coming weeks, Binotto will manage to save his head, even if it seems obvious that the season which is about to end calls for a restructuring, since Binotto would also be criticized for his propensity to want to direct everything.

During the last Italian Grand Prix, some fans did not hesitate to demand the departure of Mattia Binotto. ©DPPI/F. Gooden

To replace it, the experience track would be favored. There are not many people whose profile meets the requirements. We think in particular of Frédéric Vasseur whose name had already circulated during the time of the late Sergio Marchionne, then President of FCA and Ferrari. We also think of the current Team Principal of McLaren Andreas Seidl whose work carried out in Woking (UK) continues to be praised and whose name had already been circulated a few months ago. We still think of the current sports director Laurent Mekiès who would win the vote if senior management were to prefer an internal solution.

We are not there, at least not yet, but it seems obvious that the lines will move on the side of Maranello once the season is over.

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