Alpine could have a new full-time team principal after the summer break after rumors of Mattia Binotto joining them spread like wildfire. This is despite reports suggesting that the 53-year-old still has to serve his gardening leave for the rest of this year. So, if this agreement is true, the Italian as per the contract cannot join any other term until the beginning of the next season as Ferrari can take legal action.
Experienced engineers usually are put on gardening leave to prevent them from carrying the knowledge of their previous teams to the newer sides they would join. However, if their former employers give them permission to join another team, then the employees can join a rival. This exactly seems to be the case with Binotto as he edges closer to completing a move to Alpine.
Mattia Binotto can join Alpine after attending the Pirelli tests at SPA
The Belgian Grand Prix at SPA was a noteworthy weekend for Alpine as this was the last time that many of their personnel stepped foot in the paddock. This is because ahead of the Grand Prix weekend, the French team had confirmed the departures of Alan Permane, Pat Fry, team principal Otmar Szafnauer and also CEO Laurent Rossi.
While Alpine now has an interim team principal in place, a report from formulapassion-pro.ey.r.appspot.com states that Mattia Binotto could join them full-time. This report came out soon after the Italian attended the Pirelli tests at SPA.
The report adds that Binotto could start working by September, once all the parties involved in the negotiation have come to an agreement. Binotto is likely to be a huge asset if Alpine does end up signing him not only because of the knowledge and expertise he gained at a big team like Ferrari but also because of how much in demand he is, with some other teams also attempting to get his signature.
However, it is pertinent to note that managing a team that is currently undergoing a crisis is going to be far from easy for anyone. Hence, Binotto will need to ensure that he acclimatizes himself to Alpine as soon as possible and helps the team to resurrect themselves.
Audi had contacted Binotto earlier
Audi is all set to join F1 from the 2026 season onwards after investing a whopping $200,000,000 into their project. According to Business F1, the company had plans of signing Mattia Binotto soon after Ferrari sacked him at the end of a dismal 2022 season.
The report also adds that Binotto took a tour at Audi’s Neuburg base. However, the report states that he was far from impressed as he also went to the extent of referring to the Audi managers as “clowns“. While Binotto did not seem impressed with Audi, it seems that Alpine have managed to show him some promise due to which he is reportedly all set to sign with them.
