Formula One: Mattia Binotto resigns as Ferrari team boss after disappointing year on track
- Rumours had swirled about 53-year-old’s position after team finished a distant second to Red Bull
- Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur is being touted as a likely successor
Ferrari Formula One boss Mattia Binotto has handed in his resignation and will leave at the end of the year, the championship runners-up said on Tuesday.
The news came after considerable media speculation that the 53-year-old, whose contract was due to expire at the end of 2023, had lost top level support after another failed title challenge.
Possible successors include Frederic Vasseur, who runs the Swiss-based Sauber and is principal of the Alfa Romeo team, which counts China’s Zhou Guanyu among its drivers.
“With the regret that this entails, I have decided to conclude my collaboration with Ferrari,” the Italian sportscar manufacturer quoted Binotto as saying in a statement announcing his departure.
“I am leaving a company that I love, which I have been part of for 28 years, with the serenity that comes from the conviction that I have made every effort to achieve the objectives set.
“I leave a united and growing team. A strong team, ready, I’m sure, to achieve the highest goals, to which I wish all the best for the future. I think it is right to take this step at this time, as hard as this decision has been for me.”
Ferrari said they had started the search for a replacement, likely to be finalised in the New Year.