Mattia Binotto may be at risk of the sack after a year in which Ferrari flattered to deceive, according to reports.
Ferrari began the season strongly, winning two of the first three races to announce that they were back in the title conversation. At the time Binotto's stock was high, as he was the team principal who had turned a team that finished sixth in the standings in 2020 into championship contenders in little more than a year.
But it wasn't long before the tide began to turn in Red Bull's favour. Champion Max Verstappen and his team have been remarkably strong and consistent, but they have been helped massively by a swathe of power unit problems and costly strategy mistakes which mean they will finish miles off the runaway title-winners.
As a result, there has been plenty of speculation in recent months over Binotto's future. And Leo Turrini, who has been reporting on Ferrari for many years, has claimed that the team's top brass are discussing potential replacements, in case they decide to pull the trigger on the team principal over the winter.
"It is classic that, at the end of each season without winning the world title, rumours, indiscretions and inferences multiply around Ferrari," he began a column in the print edition of Italian newspaper Il Resto del Carlino. "And, of course, at the centre of the speculation is the man who alone is in command – the team principal."
As quoted by Formula Passion, Italian reporter Leo Turrini went on to say Ferrari are "talking about" a potential replacement for Binotto, in response to the "reliability limits and strategic management errors" which led to the "sudden collapse" of the team's title push.
The reporter also suggested that Binotto has "a relationship [which is] not always very fluid" with driver Charles Leclerc, and that it could be a factor in Ferrari's decision. Turrini headlined a separate piece recapping the Brazilian Grand Prix by claiming the Monegasque racer "burns with rage" after his request to be allowed to overtake team-mate Carlos Sainz was denied.
He wrote: "Mattia Binotto was not in the pits at Interlagos. His deputy, the Frenchman [Laurent] Mekies, said no: 'it would be dangerous, [Fernando] Alonso is very close to you'. So everything remained as it was. Sainz third, Leclerc fourth. Now Charles has the same points as [Sergio] Perez in the rankings. Controversy... The feeling is that the disappointing seasonal ending has raised the nervousness inside Ferrari to danger level."
Speaking to Calciomercato, Turrini also said Ferrari CEO John Elkann "will make Binotto weigh up the Mercedes 1-2 in Brazil". He went on to give his opinion that "it would be a mistake" to make a change for the sake of it, but also added that he should only keep his job "if he has the full confidence of the top management".
If Ferrari do decide to axe Binotto, one proposed candidate to replace him is Frederic Vasseur, the current chief at Alfa Romeo Sauber, as he was "Leclerc's first team principal in F1, as well as a good friend of [the driver's manager] Nicholas Todt". Antonello Colette, manager at Ferrari's GT racing team, is another who could be considered.
