Scuderia Ferrari with yesterday’s flat denial closed the door on the arrival of Frederic Vasseur as team principal, although several sources from the Prancing Horse had credited the changing of the guard at the management deck of the Gestione Sportiva starting from 1 January.
It all seemed decided, but suddenly the sliding doors of the Reparto Corse changed an ending of the film that had been written. A grain of sand jammed the gears and everything stopped. But what happened?
It is legitimate to ask whether someone from Maranello (or from Turin) took the trouble to activate the press, not only Italian, to burn Vasseur’s candidacy, knowing full well that the French manager, current Alfa Romeo team principal, had not still signed a contract that would have bound him to the Scuderia. A lightning action, after a negotiation woven over time.
Mattia Binotto got on the plane that took him to Abu Dhabi with his smartphone in his pocket with the meager tweet that declassified the press previews as totally unfounded rumors.
The engineer from Reggio then shows up in the Yas Marina pits with the polished stripes of the head of Sport Management and on Saturday he will take part in the FIA team principals’ press conference ready to defend his position in front of all the international press.
Binotto will lead the team to defend second place in the Constructors’ championship from the attack by Mercedes and to help Charles Leclerc stay ahead of Sergio Perez in the fight for the place of honor in the drivers’ championship.
The F1-75 could have hoped to win already in Brazil, but the unusual Red Bull “crisis” at Interlagos was not enough to return to the top step of the podium, given that Mercedes showed technical superiority to even score a double with the W13.
The redhead can aspire to a success at Yas Marina if the weekend were to be for once not conditioned by bad luck or serious mistakes, because the Cavallin car did not show the usual tire degradation during the Brazilian stints, revealing on the contrary that it was only a pair of tenths from the silver arrows.
Some believe that the Scuderia’s denial was weak. If we wanted to restore strength to Binotto, a statement from John Elkann would also have been needed, renewing his trust in the team principal. But the president’s “advisers” had pointed out that there was no need for John to intervene because officially nothing had changed since the (rare) interview with the boss in the Gazzetta dello Sport at Monza.
And even Sauber has not given any signs of life: in Hinwil no one has reacted in any way to… the speculation of the press, aligning themselves with the Cavallino trend.
The underdog attitude, so dear to the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, attracts followers in Maranello. He buys time, putting Vasseur’s candidacy in the fridge, although the Frenchman was already working hard and we will discover the effects of certain moves in the coming days and weeks. Frizzato Frederic, are there other candidates that shouldn’t be rejected or did you choose to go ahead with Binotto?
We have entered a “fluid” phase where everything and its opposite can still happen. Mattia Binotto, meanwhile, will lead the technical staff to the completion of the 675, the eagerly awaited 2023 single-seater with which to aim for the 2023 world title. And perhaps he will present to the president how the racing team intends to change by reinforcing those areas that have still shown serious shortcomings…
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