Former Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto was recently spotted at Silverstone ahead of the British GP, exactly a year after everything went wrong between him and Charles Leclerc. It was heavily reported that Binotto had an ugly fallout with Leclerc at this very circuit and they haven’t been on talking terms with each other ever since.
Tensions boiled over at Maranello after Binotto declined to pay heed to the Monegasque in the 2022 British Grand Prix race. Carlos Sainz started the race from the pole position but was seemingly slower than Leclerc. Leclerc wanted the team to prioritize his race over Sainz’s in order to keep his championship hopes alive. Unfortunately, Ferrari, led by Binotto, refused to do so.
Binotto ordered the team to keep the order as it was. He even gave an advantage to Sainz by having his team formulate a better strategy for him. In the end, Sainz picked up the win.
This marred the relationship between Binotto and Leclerc, after other debacles that took place previously that season. Furthermore, this also kickstarted a domino effect that ultimately saw Binotto leave Ferrari ahead of the 2023 season. Despite his exit, Binotto’s presence at Silverstone this weekend shows that he is far from being disconnected from F1.
Mattia Binotto spotted at Silverstone
Mattia Binotto has recently been spotted in Silverstone, but nowhere near his old team Ferrari’s garage or motorhome. According to a post on Reddit, the 53-year-old was captured talking to an official at Pirelli near the tire supplier’s office.
Pirelli’s work at Silverstone this weekend has gathered a lot of extra attention, because of the upcoming tire test. Red Bull reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo too, will get behind the wheel of the RB19 to take part in this. However, whether Binotto’s presence at the Pirelli office’s vicinity was related to the test or not remains unknown.
Mattia Binotto is in the Silverstone paddock! pic.twitter.com/uNtmrFTGO9
— Ferrari News 🐎 (@FanaticsFerrari) July 7, 2023
Binotto’s falling out with Leclerc at Silverstone in 2022 made things very difficult for him. His questionable strategy decisions began to be scrutinized even more in the races that followed the British GP. Nevertheless, he insisted that his decision was right. Even after Ferrari started unraveling and losing ground to Red Bull towards the business end, he remained firm in his stance that prioritizing Leclerc over Sainz wasn’t good for the team.
Action against Charles Leclerc and Binotto’s ultimate fate
Despite Binotto’s rigidity, Charles Leclerc was believed to be absolutely furious with the strategy that lost him the British GP. The Monegasque driver who was pushing Verstappen for the title was not happy with how the entire thing played out last year in Silverstone.
Despite having started in P3, Charles Leclerc finished the race in P4 and failed to capitalize on Verstappen’s dismal P7 finish. On the other hand, his teammate Carlos Sainz ended up winning the race, which was his first in F1.
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) July 3, 2022
Even though the former Ferrari boss had no direct part to play in the strategy, he came up to support the Sainz and asked Leclerc to hold his position. Furthermore, he also defended his decision by saying it was better for Ferrari to finish in the order they did.
In the end, Mattia Binotto was sacked after the culmination of the 2022 season. Fred Vasseur was brought into the Maranello-based outfit as his replacement. Binotto is currently serving a 12-month long gardening-leave following his exit from Ferrari. He will not be able to join a team until he legally can.
