The now almost certain separation between the Ferrari And Matthias Binotto has inevitably set in motion, especially in the Italian media, the hunt for the name of the one who will be the successor of the outgoing team principal. Ever since the first speculations emerged – which the Maranello team had defined “groundless” – on a probable farewell of the current number one on the Ferrari wall, there was only one name in pole position: that of Frederic Vasseur. The boss of the Alfa Romeo ‘branded’ Sauber appears to be the clear favorite to lead the red team in 2023, a season which at this point risks becoming a fundamental watershed in Ferrari’s recent history. According to many, Vasseur’s greatest advantage is that he is very close to Charles Leclerc, the young star from Maranello who – especially in the last year – hasn’t seemed to have a particular feeling with Binotto.
However, the great attention paid by Italian newspapers to the story of the Binotto-Ferrari breakup has brought to light one impressed series of other names that the leaders of Cavallino, from John Elkann down, would have probed without however the negotiations leading to the desired outcome. The feeling that transpires therefore is that, if indeed the ‘chosen one’ were to be Vasseur, it would be a fallback name, selected more for the lack of concrete alternatives than for a real conviction that he could be the one to bring the Scuderia back to those world titles that have been missing since the two-year period 2007-2008. In the meantime, the hypothesis of a interregnum managed by the CEO Benedict Vignawho would go up to the bridge to act as a point of reference in this complex transition phase.
“[…] Vasseur remains a candidate to succeed Binotto – underlines Stefano Mancini on The print – even if his name has aroused some perplexity in the environment (it is still the number one of a low-ranked team). An alternative hypothesis is the ad interim appointment of the managing director of Ferrari, Benedetto Vigna, and the appointment of a technical director, a figure canceled by Binotto. […] The Andrea Seidl hypothesis seems to have lapsed […] while the hypothesis of a return of Ross Brawn, director at the time of Schumacher and now parked as director of F1, appears suggestive”.
Daniele Sparisci and Giorgio Terruzzi, sul Corriere della Seraare more explicit in naming the names and surnames of executives contacted by the Maranello owners and who would have responded spades to the call: “[…] Vasseur is eager to arrive, he is the only one available, after the refusals of many candidates, from the German Seidl, McLaren team principal, to Franz Tost, Alpha Tauri boss, to Gerhard Berger, busy in completely different matters. It means that Vasseur – who would have already started the Italian lessons – is not an optimal choice, but the only practicable one. Something that doesn’t excite, even considering the Frenchman’s curriculum vitae, fresh from a bankruptcy in Renault management, from an unexciting experience at Alfa, linked to Toto Wolff, taken by many personal interests in motorsport […]“.
On the Gazzetta dello Sport instead Paolo Ianieri referred to the political connections that would have helped Vasseur, also highlighting how an interesting internal solution had been thought of: “[…] It has been these weeks […] evaluated other possible candidates, both internal to the company (Antonello Coletta, who however declined, preferring to remain in charge of the Le Mans project, but could be involved at a supervisory level), and external (Andreas Seidl, the McLaren team principal who however he said “no” himself. But Vasseur’s profile […] he has always been one step ahead of everyone both for his professional background and for his “political” connections: he is a close friend of Carlos Tavares, the CEO of the Stellantis Group, but also with John Elkann, president of Stellantis and Ferrari […]”.
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