Who’s likely to replace Mattia Binotto at Ferrari? 3 possible replacements for the Italian

F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi - Final Practice
Mattia Binotto has resigned from his role at Ferrari

Mattia Binotto will not be the team principal at Ferrari next season. After 28 years of service, the former Ferrari boss fell victim to the 'revolving doors' at the Italian giant.

Binotto, however, is not the first Scuderia team principal who has had to go through this. Since the last Ferrari title in 2008 (the constructors' championship), the team has seen Stefano Domenicali lead the team until the 2014 F1 season debacle. Then, it was Marco Mattiaci who took over the reins from Domenicali, orchestrated a deal with Sebastian Vettel, and then made way for Maurizio Arrivabene.

Arrivabene was then ultimately pushed out in favor of Mattia Binotto at the end of the 2018 F1 season and now, we will see Binotto suffer the same fate. With Binotto out of the picture, the question remains over who will replace him, making for an interesting debate. According to a report by Dieter Rencken, Ferrari had approached Christian Horner with a lucrative offer but faced rejection. So let's take a look at the possible options that could act as a replacement for Mattia Binotto at Ferrari.


Possible Mattia Binotto replacements at Ferrari

#1 Frederic Vasseur

What works?

Frederic Vasseur was one of the first names to do the rounds as Mattia Binotto's replacement on the team. The French team principal, in all likelihood, is the frontrunner to replace Binotto. In all fairness, he is a potent candidate for the position. The Alfa Romeo boss has been able to keep the team afloat in the last few seasons and has been the spearhead when it comes to the jump in competitiveness seen by the team this season.

To add to this, Vasseur is one of the most respected voices in the paddock and has been a veteran of motorsports for some time now.

What doesn't?

One of the biggest things that work against Vasseur is some of the questionable choices that he has made when it comes to the team's driver lineup. Picking up Guanyu Zhou and leaving Theo Pourchaire, an arguably brighter talent, was questionable and so has been the lack of apparent progress the team showed with a Kimi Raikkonen/Antonio Giovinazzi driver lineup.

Vasseur's style of leadership could be perceived as a little too conservative and that's not necessarily what a frontrunning team needs at the moment.

#2 Ross Brawn

What works?

While Ross Brawn announced his retirement from the sport, he did something similar in 2014 when he left Mercedes. The F1 legend wanted to spend more time fishing than worrying about the rigors of running a team. Having said that, Brawn's resume and career are one of the most successful in the history of the sport. He won titles with Benetton, Ferrari, and Brawn GP and left Mercedes on the precipice of one of the most dominant eras in the sport, one that he helped build.

Brawn knows what works and what doesn't at Ferrari and he might just be the man to bring the team back to its glory days.

What doesn't?

The fact that Brawn knows what works and what doesn't at Ferrari could also be a reason why he might not want to join the team. The team has seen multiple personnel come and go, and Brawn would not want to join that list. To add to this, at 71 years of age, will he be willing to get into a battle with the sharks of the sport like Christian Horner and Toto Wolff? Brawn might not be interested in putting his legacy on the line for this role.

#3 Andreas Seidl

What works?

Arguably a name that has stayed under the radar is Andreas Seidl. The McLaren team principal and his role in getting the team back to respectability after the Honda disaster is underrated. Seidl comes from a history of successful stints with Porsche in Endurance racing and has since developed an impressive resume in F1 as well. A level-headed leader like Seidl could be on Ferrari's radar and rank very highly on the list of probables.

What doesn't?

Since the F1 paddock knows how good Seidl is, McLaren would ideally have him tied down to a long-term contract with the team. If that's not the case, how well the rather political structure and Ferrari will work with a German leading the Italian team is a massive question mark.

Wild Card: Benedetto Vigna

A wild card in all of this will be Benedetto Vigna. In a recent piece done by Dieter Rencken about Ferrari, he indicated that Vigna might just be taking up the interim role if the team does not find a worthy replacement for Binotto.

No successor has been announced yet and there appears to be radio silence from the team when it comes to announcing Binotto's replacement. There is also the possibility of the team CEO taking over in the meantime until there is a worthy replacement signed. Could Benedetto Vigna take over from Mattia Binotto for the 2023 F1 season? Well, if there is no suitable replacement found by the team and signed, there is a strong possibility of this happening.

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Edited by Anurag C