Sebastian Vettel will be retiring at the end of the 2022 F1 season. The 4-time World Champion exits the sport as one of the most successful drivers. But if there is one thing the German couldn’t achieve then it was winning the title with Ferrari
Seb’s purpose to join Ferrari was to follow in the footsteps of his idol Michael Schumacher. Just like Schumi, Vettel was a former World Champion who joined Ferrari during their dry spell without a title since 2007.
Seb came close to toppling Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’s domination. But despite the lack of titles, Seb will always be dear to the Tifosi says Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto.
Mattia Binotto on Seb’s departure from Ferrari
Mattia Binotto echoed the words of many when he was asked to speak about Seb’s departure from F1. He said, “Sebastian is a great driver. We were lucky to have him for 6 years. Every fan loves Seb, and as a team we still love him.”
Binotto joined Ferrari in 2019, replacing Maurizio Arrivabene. Along with him, Charles Leclerc joined Ferrari replacing Kimi Raikonnen who had been Seb’s teammate since 2015.
Charles immediately made an impact in the Ferrari car, securing a pole in his 2nd race for the team. While Vettel struggled and often suffered spins in the car. The two had on-track friction and it peaked during the 2019 Brazilian GP where the two collided.
But Ferrari was satisfied with Leclerc’s performance and saw him as the future of the team. And Seb was later informed in 2020 that the team will not be renewing his 53 Million contract at the end of the season.
Binotto adds, “Telling him we weren’t going to renew was the hardest task of my career.” Vettel would jump ship to Aston Martin where he would race for another 2 seasons.
Binotto dismisses sacking reports
Ahead of the 2022 Abu Dhabi GP, rumours spread concerning Ferrari’s sacking of Mattia Binotto from the position of Team Principal. The board at Maranello weren’t happy about the team’s performance in 2022 and held Binotto accountable.
Ferrari later released a statement claiming the rumours are false and “without foundation.” Binotto claimed during the pre-race Press Conference that he is relaxed and there is no
Binotto said, “After what was written, I spoke with President John Elkann. We had open discussions and decided that the best way to silence the rumours is to issue a statement. I always have open, frank and constructive discussions with my bosses.”
He does agree that Ferrari was disappointed to drop out of the title race with Red Bull and Max Verstappen. But in terms of progress, Ferrari has leapt ahead of expectations.
He added, “Also, looking back at the season, we had a few ups and downs, but we achieved our main objective to be competitive in the new era of 2022 cars.”
Binotto adds that the team must fully analyse their weakness this season. But the team is united in and fully focused on their 2023 target.
