Mattia Binotto spoke about his former team, Scuderia Ferrari, revealing in particular that he would not have recruited Lewis Hamilton.
Director of the Ferrari team from 2019 to 2022 before resigning and being replaced by Fred Vasseur, Mattia Binotto had four turbulent seasons at Maranello, to say the least.
The 2022 season, his last at the head of the Italian team, was notably marked by numerous disillusionments while Ferrari had started the season with a bang with a double in Bahrain and seemed to be a real candidate for world titles.
His relationship with Charles Leclerc had also seemed to deteriorate over time, including this rather incredible image of the Italian lecturing his driver after the Grand Prix at Silverstone in 2022 in full view of the cameras.
Read also: Leclerc “curious” to face Hamilton: “I don’t know his weaknesses”
Binotto: “If the talent is Leclerc, it is he who, in a certain way, should be taken to the goal”
Mattia Binotto, now head of operations for the Audi F1 project, was asked about the evolution of the Scuderia after his departure, believing that his successor Fred Vasseur did not “revolutionized” the stable.
“Fred knew how to continue the project under the sign of continuity, he did not revolutionize a structured and functional organization”, analyzed Mattia Binotto during an interview with Corriere della Sera.
“He also made his own choices, but I repeat: if Ferrari wins, I am happy because I know the team and I know how much effort has been made to bring it to a certain level.”
Asked whether he too would have decided to recruit Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari, Binotto replied in the negative: “No. But he did very well to go to Ferrari, I agree with his decision.”
He was then asked to explain this answer: “Because Ferrari had set its sights on other drivers”, he explains. “And if the talent is Leclerc, it is he who, in a certain way, should be taken to goal.”
Do you agree with Mattia Binotto’s comments? Give your opinion in the comments.
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