BINOTTO OUT & F1 SPRINTS CONFIRMED!

Binotto Out!

Mattia Binotto ended his 28-year relationship with Ferrari last week when he resigned from his positions of Team Principal and Technical Chief.

Looking purely at the stats would make you question why as Ferrari has had its best year in terms of wins, points and championship position since 2019. It was Red Bull’s main rival in the championship and arguably the best car early on in the season. As Team Principal and Technical Chief, Binotto should take a lot of credit for this turnaround at the onset of the new regulations but delving deeper would show cracks between himself and the Ferrari big dogs.

It wasn’t the smoothest season for Ferrari. Poor reliability and questionable strategy decisions left a lot of points on the board and left the drivers audibly frustrated. There were too many times when the drivers were asked to make strategic decisions when it should be the team's responsibility. Carlos Sainz even had to correct the team on a penalty he had while he was driving his F1-75 at the French Grand Prix. This does hint at a lack of strong leadership.

These ‘mistakes’ and Binotto’s apparent refusal to see them that way seem to be the main reasons for the split. Binotto didn’t feel he had the full support of Ferrari chairman John Elkann and CEO Benedetto Vigna so had to go.

From the outside, this did seem inevitable as Ferrari’s season unravelled and their wait for their first championship since 2008 continues. Team Principal of Ferrari is the most pressurised job in all of F1, you aren't just the head of a legendary team but also have the expectations of a nation on your shoulders. Since Jean Todt left in 2008, Ferrari has gone through 4 of them.

So who’s next in line for the job? The bookie's favourite is Alfa Romeo Managing Director Frederic Vasseur. He has helped move that team up the grid since he was appointed in 2018 and has that steely personality needed to deal with the position. It also helps that the decision maker John Elkann is the Chairman of both companies so should have lots of information on Vasseur. The Frenchman has the necessary experience of F1 and its politics not to be fazed by the role so it looks like a well-matched pairing if you ask me. The fact he isn't Italian will only help his cause as well.

After a string of ‘company men’ in the position, it may be time for a fresh pair of hands on the reins at Ferrari.

But is he doomed before he even starts? Despite the way Ferrari’s season imploded, Binotto has been successful and the team has definitely improved under his watch. Most importantly they hired Binotto for his technical focus, and this year’s car was the best they have had for a long time, they just couldn’t keep up with the development of Red Bull. One thing the top teams have is stability at the top.

It seems there’s more going on at Ferrari than just the wrong guy at the top. They may have had the right guy, but they just didn’t know how to properly use him.

The 6 Sprints Confirmed for 2023

F1 announced the 6 tracks that will host Sprint weekends for 2023, increasing the number from 3 previously. After conducting research into where best to host the format on the basis of overtaking opportunities, close racing and high-speed sections, the FIA ended up picking Azerbaijan, Austria, Belgium, Qatar, USA and Brazil. While Austria and Brazil have hosted the Sprint before, the rest are new editions to the format. I think this is a good selection for the Sprint, Azerbaijan should hopefully bring chaotic energy circa 2017 while the others (apart from Qatar) create good racing on a regular basis so this should translate.

SCOTT’S OPINION

I’m positive about the sprint races. Simply, it’s more racing to watch. Of course, there may be a few tweaks to be made, but in general, I think they’re great. If I were competing, I’d also enjoy the sprints. The aggression and excitement of the starts are one of the most exhilarating things about racing!

The Sprint format has been the FIA’s way of creating more action across the 3 days of an F1 weekend and it has definitely done this. I like the fact that the teams have to semi-guess on their setup after just one practice session on a Friday before park ferme rules take over as Quali starts. It adds an extra element to the weekend instead of long and boring practice sessions.

However, something is missing. I see two issues with this format. Firstly, the teams and drivers aren’t really incentivised to be aggressive as the punishment would be starting at the back for the main race if a crash were to happen. This means they can be a little processional.

My second issue is the age-old issue with F1 - it’s quite hard to overtake and as the Sprint is essentially a shorter race, it just becomes the equivalent of the first stint in a full race. Once the first couple laps of shuffling are over, people settle into a rhythm but we don’t get the payoff of strategy differences like a full race.

So here are my solutions that nobody asked for:

Qualifying on Friday sets the grid for the Sunday race proper - that is locked in. The Sprint race starts in the reverse order of that Qualifying and points are given to the top 8 (as they are now).

We have seen it time and again when faster cars have to come through the field, we get more exciting racing and more jeopardy. This would also give the lower teams a great chance at points and showcase their driver's abilities without costing them on a Sunday if they were to collide. It also makes the top teams work harder for a point or two that could make the difference in a championship, compared to prioritising finishing for the race on Sunday.

What do you think about this? Let us know what your solutions to the Sprint weekend would be.

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