Ferrari has issued a statement denying what it calls “rumours” and “speculation” in Italian media that team principal Mattia Binotto will be replaced by Alfa Romeo team boss Fred Vasseur in 2023.
A report in the respected Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport on Tuesday claimed definitively that Ferrari chairman John Elkann has already made a decision, and that 2022 will be Binotto’s last in charge of the Scuderia, having been Team Principal of Ferrari since 2019.
Scuderia Ferrari Statement:
In relation to speculation in certain media regarding Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto's position, Ferrari states that these rumours are totally without foundation.
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) November 15, 2022
The report claims Vasseur has built strong relations with the senior management of Stellantis – the parent company of both Ferrari and Alfa Romeo.
Vasseur also knows Charles Leclerc well. Vasseur’s ART organisation ran Charles in karting and GP3, and Fred also worked with Charles when he was an F1 rookie at Sauber in 2018.
Binotto’s team has made several questionable strategic calls this season, and Leclerc has often had to be careful not to criticise the team too heavily in public after being the victim of Ferrari’s mistakes.
Ferrari insists Binotto is going nowhere for now, but it wouldn’t be the first time Ferrari has removed its team principal after a sequence of disappointing seasons.
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