Currently reading: Ferrari Formula 1 team boss Mattia Binotto to step down

Team principal to leave helm at end of the year, bringing to an end 28 years with the Scuderia

Ferrari Formula 1 team boss Mattia Binotto will leave his role at the end of the year.

Binotto was at the helm of what seemed like the Scuderia's revival earlier this year, with Charles Leclerc fighting eventual runaway winner Max Verstappen for early race wins.

Yet a disspointing second half of the season had Ferrari finish just over 200 points off Red Bull in the constructors' championship standings – and sitting just 39 points above third-placed Mercedes-AMG, which mustered only one victory.

“With the regret that this entails, I have decided to conclude my collaboration with Ferrari," said Binotto, who joined in 1994.  

"I'm leaving a company that I love, which I have been part of for 28 years, with the serenity that comes from the convinction 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's right to take this step at this time, as hard as this decision has been for me."

Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said: “I would like to thank Mattia for his many great contributions over 28 years with Ferrari and particularly for leading the team back to a position of competitiveness during this past year.

"As a result, we're in a strong position to renew our challenge, above all for our amazing fans around the world, to win the ultimate prize in motorsport.

"Everyone here at the Scuderia and in the wider Ferrari community wishes Mattia well for the future.”  

Ferrari confirmed the hunt for its next team boss is already underway.

Will Rimell

Will Rimell Autocar
Title: News editor

Will is Autocar's news editor.​ His focus is on setting Autocar's news agenda, interviewing top executives, reporting from car launches, and unearthing exclusives.

As part of his role, he also manages Autocar Business – the brand's B2B platform – and Haymarket's aftermarket publication CAT.

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The Apprentice 29 November 2022
They were exciting at the start of the season and we thought hello, game on! Couldn't quite work out if the change as the season went on was them going off the boil or ongoing development by others leaving them behind. Its the devoted fans I feel sorry for, so loyal and so rarely rewarded.
Symanski 29 November 2022

I wonder what Red Bull's over spend is this year?   After getting an advantage from last year?

 

Problems at Ferrari all started when they wouldn't let Ross Brawn be in overall charge and he left.   Brawn then set up the most successful F1 team in history, winning 100% of championships they were entered in to.   Then laid the groundwork for Mercedes, but lost his position when Lauda and Toto mounted a coup.

 

Ferrari, instead, dismantled everything Brawn had done within their the winning team that he'd left.

Peter Cavellini 29 November 2022

If your the TP it's your responsibility to make it all work, but, if your team can't even change a Wheel, or bring out the wrong Tyres, only as good as your last race?, would it have made a difference for Leclerc and Sainz?, might have.

scrap 29 November 2022

Yeah, Ferrari are being generous here in letting him leave with dignity. He was surely due for the sack after all the fluffed strategy calls and pit lane cock ups this year.