Rumour has it that Formula 1 team boss Mattia Binotto will be sacked from his role as team principal for Ferrari, which would be an astounding move on the eve of the 2021 F1 season.
It is said that Ferrari is looking at options beyond Mattia Binotto after two seasons with the team, both of which are considered ‘underwhelming’. The main source for this rumour is from Czech Ferrari GT driver Josef Kral via his Youtube channel. (edit – at around 9.05am GMT, this video was changed to private)
According to Kral, it has already been decided that Binotto will be let go, and at the moment Ferrari is only waiting for testing to see how the car performs. If it performs well, he will be given a dignified goodbye and “thanks for building a good car for the team”.
If true, the news would represent a real twist. 2021 should be a transition year for the Italian team in view of the major regulatory change of 2022.
Binotto himself had announced that he would spend less time on the track this season in order to be able to follow the development of next year’s car more closely. Laurent Mekies will replace the current Ferrari Team Principal in the races in which he will not take part.
Further, according to the journalist Serhan Acar, Binotto will have been removed from the role of team principal to join the FIA World Motorsport Council, representing Ferrari. Therefore, the team would avoid letting one of the best engineers of the current F1 run free, as recently happened with Aldo Costa, Lorenzo Sassi or James Allison.
Binotto admits that everything is on the line this year saying:
“As the team principal of Ferrari, I am fully aware of the responsibility I have got. I don’t feel the pressure, but the responsibility and the pride. We simply need to do better and that is part of my responsibility.”
Former Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali says he has “nothing to recommend” to Mattia Binotto other than to stay focused on Ferrari’s “priorities”.
Interviewed by Corriere Della Serre, he said: “I see a company looking for stability that can guarantee competitiveness, but I have nothing to recommend to my friend Mattia Binotto.
“At Ferrari, it’s about staying focused on priorities without being distracted by the enormous pressure that surrounds you.”
It remains to be seen how soon the change will happen, but sources indicate it could be imminient.
