'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
At the 2018 F1 Japanese GP, reports of a rift between then-Ferrari technical director Mattia Binotto and then-team principal Maurizio Arrivabene emerged.
After the Scuderia's disastrous 2018 F1 season ended, a new order was established at the team as it was revealed that Binotto would take over from Arrivabene as the team principal at Ferrari. At the time, the decision received a positive response as Binotto had been a Ferrari employee for decades and Arrivabene was someone who did not get the best portrayal within the media.
This is the Prancing Horse's fourth season under Binotto's reign. With the Italian featuring in the limelight for the first time in his reign, legitimate questions are being raised about his acumen and his capability to lead the Scuderia to a title challenge.
The emergence of Mattia Binotto at Ferrari was not a coincidence
Mattia Binotto's emergence as the man to overthrow Maurizio Arrivabene was not something that happened out of the blue. Binotto had been a Ferrari man for decades while Arrivabene was seen as the charismatic "Marlboro guy". After two failed championship campaigns in 2017 and 2018, coinciding with Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne's death, there was a clear power struggle within the team. Ever since Marchionne's passing, the team had gone into disarray with one disaster after the other in the second half of the season.
The new regime that took over placed the blame squarely on Arrivabene and sided with Binotto, the affable "Ferrari guy" who had worked within the team for far too long. In retrospect, the team's failures in 2017 and 2018 could be pinned down not only to operational failures but technical shortcomings as well.
In both those seasons, Mercedes out-developed the Italian squad in the second halves and ran away with the title. The blame for all of this should have fallen on Binotto's shoulders, but as it turns out, he won the internal power struggle and rose to prominence.
Mattia Binotto has not inspired confidence at any point in his reign
Ever since Mattia Binotto took over, the team has been going through a bit of a rut. Ferrari was not a piece of championship-contending machinery in 2019, the first season for the Italian as the team principal. It's also pretty common knowledge now that there was something funny going on with that Ferrari power unit as well.
The 2020 season was worse as the team had to make last-minute modifications to the engine as the FIA's technical directive left them with no choice. Throughout all of this, Binotto kept a strong face and talked about a strong future with title contention a part of it. As it turns out, the Scuderia made strides in 2021 to finish third in the championship, and in 2022 won 2 of the first 3 races.
Throughout all of this, there was a clear "lack of fire" and a certain level of acceptability towards mediocre results. This was not the case in previous reigns. For example, in 2017, the car was not as fast as the Mercedes, but the Italian squad still put blood and heart into it to make it a challenge in the first half of the season.
Binotto's regime has been a contradiction on that front. Pre-2019 season Binotto was all about expectation management. The 2020 and 2021 seasons were nothing but fillers for the team before it got down to the business of fighting for the title.
The Scuderia have arguably the fastest car on the grid this season, but there is a lack of emphasis from the team boss when it comes to winning a championship. As a result, "next season" has become the party line for the team, and for unexplained reasons, Binotto is already leaning towards that.
The lack of awareness of a championship slipping through the hands is shockingly obvious
What was not only surprising but hard to explain as well, was Mattia Binotto's much-publicized finger-wagging at Charles Leclerc after the 2022 F1 British GP. The scene made it painfully obvious that Ferrari had zero idea of what it had done.
The 2022 F1 British GP was a race in which the Italian squad, with its lack of decision-making or clarity of thought, cost the lead driver 13 points in the championship. In a race that Leclerc should have won by all means, he ended up off the podium. Yet, Binotto's rather public telling off of the Monegasque was a sign that the team was not even aware of what it had done.
Binotto was defiant in his post-race interviews and felt nothing about the rather prolonged mismanaged race dynamics during the 2022 F1 British GP. His post-race defense was rather strange as he lashed out at the critics, saying:
“What would they have done then? I think the decision we took was the right one and the proper one at each single time. Should we have stopped Charles [Leclerc] at the safety car is maybe the only one we could be questioning, I think.”
Does Mattia Binotto even know what he can achieve this season?
The way Mattia Binotto handled the post-race questions almost makes you think that there is a clear lack of directionality or purpose. Ferrari has arguably the fastest car on the grid. Binotto, however, has been very vocal in stating that the team's goal is not to win the championship this season. It's almost bewildering for a team principal to come out and make such a statement when he has the best car on the grid in his ranks. What more is he looking for in this case?
Does such a lack of killer instinct work in an F1 paddock? Especially when it is filled with sharks like Toto Wolff and Christian Horner who would go to war even if their teams did not have the fastest cars? No, it does not!
This is the first season of the new regulations. Mercedes messed up at the start of the season but is now making a comeback. Red Bull has still not completely gotten on top of the regulations and is vulnerable in some areas. This is the Italian team's best opportunity since 2008 to win the title. Does Binotto even know that? Does he even know he has the opportunity to immortalize himself as the man who brought the Scuderia back to its glory days?
Looking at his actions, it's hard to say that he does. Binotto is an in-house talent whose expertise has been on the technical side of the sport. He, however, is not a leader! He has not shown the traits that would give Tifosi the confidence in his ability to lead them to glory.
Is Mattia Binotto the right man to lead a Ferrari resurgence? On the evidence of what we have seen, no, he's not.
