Following a terrible season of poor strategy decisions that denied Charles Leclerc any chance to challenge for the championship, Ferrari has decided to break company with Mattia Binotto after 28 years, four of which he spent leading the Formula One team.
Mattia Binotto, the head of Ferrari, leaves the Prancing Horse
Leclerc started off strong, taking two victories in the first three races, and looked ready to challenge Max Verstappen for the F1 championship, which has been held by no Ferrari driver in 15 years. He came in almost 150 points behind and had not won since July.
As Verstappen and Red Bull dominated the drivers’ and constructors’ titles, Binotto’s resignation had been rumoured for a while.
Ferrari’s performance was an improvement over 2020 and 2021, when it failed to win any races, but Leclerc and the audience were disappointed to see the team fall so far behind after such a promising start.
When Leclerc lost the chance to win his home race at the Monaco Grand Prix in May due to an improper pit call, he became irate with the team. He ran out of tyres at the British Grand Prix and was beat for the victory by teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. Leclerc had little opportunity to contend for pole position in Brazil this month because Ferrari equipped his vehicle with intermediate tyres while everyone else was on slicks.
Only three tyres were initially put on Sainz’s car during another bungled pit stop at the Dutch Grand Prix in September, which was interpreted as a sign of Ferrari’s difficulties.
The organisation did not announce Binotti’s replacement right away but stated that it “is anticipated to be finalised in the new year.””
Benedetto Vigna, the CEO of Ferrari, praised Binotto for “getting the team back to a competitive position this past year.” As a result, we are in a strong position to relaunch our challenge to win the greatest racing award, especially for our incredible fans around the world.”
With Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari last won a drivers’ championship in 2007, and the following year, it won a constructors’ championship.