Mattia Binotto has stepped down as boss of Ferrari’s Formula 1 team after a disappointing season.
Ferrari entered 2022 as title heavyweights and won two of the opening three races, but their challenge quickly fizzled out.
Binotto’s team won only three more times as Max Verstappen and Red Bull won the championship.
The season has shed light on a series of strategic blunders and reliability issues, which raise questions about whether the team needs to revamp its management team.
Binotto will officially leave his role on December 31. Ferrari hopes to confirm a replacement in the new year.
Before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ferrari suppresses rumors it is set to replace Binotto with Alfa Romeo boss Fred Vasseur, who remains a strong candidate to fill the vacant role.
Binotto joined Ferrari in 1995 and gradually rose through the team ranks before being appointed team boss in 2019.
“With the regret this has entailed, I have decided to end my partnership with Ferrari,” Binotto said in a statement on Tuesday.
“I left the company I loved, where I’ve been for 28 years, with the serenity that comes from the belief that I’ve worked hard to achieve my goals.
“I leave a united and growing team. A strong team, I’m sure, is ready to achieve the highest goals that I wish all the best for the future. I think doing it This step at this point is properly tough as this decision has been for me.
“I want to thank all the people at Gestione Sportiva who have shared this journey with me, which has been difficult but also very satisfying.”
Binotto presided over Ferrari’s infamous 2019 campaign, which the team disputed with an engine that was later deemed illegal by the FIA.
That led to a separate agreement between the governing body and Ferrari. Although it is not yet known what the deal led to, Ferrari fell into disrepair over the next two seasons.
The inability to compete for the title in 2022 is clearly the cause of the uneasiness of superstar driver Charles Leclerc, who has frequently expressed concern about Ferrari’s strategy in races later in the season.
If Ferrari appoints Vasseur, it could be seen as a way to assuage Leclerc’s simmering frustration – Vasseur oversaw Leclerc’s rookie season at Alfa Romeo in 2018 and was a respected figure in the competition. training ground.
Vasseur worked with Ferrari’s star driver, Charles Leclerc when he was a rookie in 2018.
Leclerc has grown increasingly frustrated with Ferrari this season and frequently questions the team’s strategy in races.
