“One of the hardest things in my career”: Sacking Sebastian Vettel was one of Mattia Binotto’s most difficult jobs as Ferrari team principal

Sebastian Vettel joined Ferrari in 2015 and the Tifosi felt that their wait for a Title win would finally be over. Unfortunately, his Ferrari stint coincided with the era of Mercedes’ dominance and Vettel could not overcome that to bring Championship glory back to Maranello.

Over the course of time, he won 14 races with the Scuderia and got 55 podium finishes but Charles Leclerc’s arrival to the team changed everything for him. John Elkann wanted the team to be built around Leclerc, who is widely regarded as a champion in the making. Midway into his disastrous 2020 campaign, Ferrari announced that the four-time World Champion won’t remain with them after the season.

Vettel about Binotto: “I respect him a lot, but between us there has never been that kind of affection at the basis of relationships of a certain type. He is a pragmatic man, time will tell where the Ferrari driven by him will be in the future”.

#Gazzetta #F1

— #DankeSeb ♡ (@sebvettelnews) December 10, 2020

According to reports, it was Elkann who wanted Vettel gone but team principal Mattia Binotto was tasked with breaking the news to him. According to the 53-year-old, it was one of the hardest things he ever had to do in his F1 career.

Also read: “No longer seeing the need of $40 million salary”: Mattia Binotto didn’t decide to sack Sebastian Vettel

Asking Sebastian Vettel to leave Ferrari was extremely difficult, says Binotto

In a recent interview, Binotto shed light on Vettel’s unceremonious exit from Ferrari. He admitted that the amount of respect he has for the former Red Bull driver made it difficult to sack him. This is why the decision to not renew his contract was difficult to digest.

“Telling Seb that we weren’t going to renew his contract was one of the hardest things in my career,” he said. “When you respect the person, as well as the professional. It’s always difficult.”

BREAKING: Mattia Binotto will leave his position as Ferrari team principal at the end of 2022#F1 pic.twitter.com/wVzdS12IcG

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 29, 2022

Binotto himself has been in the news lately because of his Ferrari exit. He joined Ferrari 28 years ago as an engineer and rose up the ranks to finally become team principal in 2019. He joined the team during a transitional period and oversaw their worst campaign ever in 2020. They recovered in 2021 and returned to winning ways this season. Unfortunately, their performances massively fell off during the latter stages.

Ferrari’s disappointing end to the 2022 campaign led to tensions within the Maranello-based outfit and it ultimately resulted in Binotto resigning. The Scuderia finished second in the Constructors’ Championship with 554 points, 205 behind eventual winners Red Bull.

Also read: Former Ferrari team principal wanted Kimi Raikkonen for another year by delaying Charles Leclerc’s arrival