Ferrari F1 boss Binotto resigns

Mattia Binotto has tendered his resignation as team principal of Scuderia Ferrari. The team has announced that he will officially step down on December 31 which will terminate his lifelong tenure with the company.

“With the regret that this entails, I have decided to conclude my collaboration with Ferrari,” said Binotto in a statement. “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.”

Binotto took over the team in 2019 from Maurizio Arrivabene. The team finished second in the constructors championship that year, just as it did in 2022. However, several notable in-race strategy blunders and clashes with driver Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc and Binotto’s relationship had become rocky after a series of blunders took Ferrari out of the championship race this season despite the team’s early pace. The British Grand Prix at Silverstone appeared to be the breaking point for their relationship, after a major strategic cost lost Leclerc and Ferrari the top step of the podium. After that race, Binotto and Leclerc were “no longer speaking to each other.”

Ferrari has not yet named a replacement for Binotto, though the heir apparent is Alfa Romeo team principal Fred Vasseur, despite Ferrari denying accounts that the connection was “totally without foundation”. Vasseur reportedly has a good relationship with Leclerc, who’s contract with Ferrari is up in 2024. So bringing him in could be a shrewd decision if the team wants to retain him.