The F1 Beyond The Grid podcast has Mattia Binotto speak on his early career, joining Ferrari, time with his bosses, Charles Leclerc and more.
Following an introduction on the Italian’s ascension to the top of Ferrari, across his 25 years in the team. Binotto was then asked to discuss his own journey through the team on F1 Beyond The Grid podcast, describing his ‘lucky’ beginnings with the Scuderia, and saying that he had applied to only Sauber and Ferrari when he was entering the business in 1995.
He adds that Sauber never wrote him back. Binotto denied that his eyes were set on becoming team principal of Ferrari, saying he initially hoped to be an aerodynamicist at the Italian F1 team before he entered the engine department despite a lack of knowledge on the matter at the time, which he confesses to.
Continuing discussion on his involvement in engine development, Binotto said that the V12 engine that he only worked on for his first year was one of his favorites, almost exclusively because of the sentimental value of that period of his life and career. Speaking on this regulatory era and the V10 days following it, he discussed the massive number of engines – amounting to 17 for one notable Suzuka race – used in a F1 weekend.
The 51-year-old subsequently spoke on Michael Schumacher, recounting a story of when the German requested the first corner at Fiorano be changed after he struggled in the turn, and accommodations were made. He also told of when the German made an impression with a remarkable lap at Estoril despite an abnormal fuel load.
The Italian notably denied that the eventual seven-time F1 champion was particularly good at giving feedback, also rejecting the notion that he had any especially unusual qualities in his driving style that might have been observed in Ayrton Senna and the like. He did, though, agree with the characterization of their relationship as a cordial one.
Binotto compared the F1 team’s current rebuilding to that which they went through from 1991 to 1996 to that which the team are experiencing right now, saying that their employment of young talent at that time is similar to their hiring patterns over the past few years. This philosophy also applies to their driver line up, he says, which features a young Charles Leclerc as it did a young, albeit more experienced, Schumacher.
After comparing the two, Binotto said that the latter has performed better in F1 2020 than he did in 2019, despite being held back by a slow Ferrari. Regarding the team principals that he had worked with in years prior to his promotion, he said that it was difficult to quantify how different he is from his predecessors.
Binotto also spoke on the late Sergio Marchionne, who acted as CEO of FCA from 2014 until his tragic passing in 2018. The Ferrari principal said of his former boss that he was demanding, and expected a response on any message within 30 seconds. He says this added immense pressure.
Addressing Ferrari’s dry spell in 2020, Binotto admitted that technical directives in the winter prior to this season have negatively impacted their performances, and responded to a difficult question regarding whether or not he would still be in his role if Marchionne was still alive by saying, albeit without resounding confidence, that he would have retained his position regardless.
He went on to discuss having Louis Camilleri as a boss, pointing out differences in the new Ferrari CEO’s attitude. Subsequently, he chatted about the pride that comes along with being such an influential part of the Ferrari ‘family.’
Discussing 2021, Binotto confessed that getting back into contention will be difficult next season, though he expects a steady progression, and says that drag issues have been addressed. In relation to the chassis itself, he has little concern since improvements have been observed from 2019.
After this, Binotto spoke on Ferrari’s 2021 F1 driver choice of Carlos Sainz, saying the Spaniard is a consistent performer – something he says is necessary in the constructors’ championship. He denied that the decision to sign him was an abandonment of the team’s traditional philosophy of signing ‘big name’ talents, saying that Leclerc is their ‘big name’ at the moment.
He then told of an admittedly ‘tough’ phone call with Sebastian Vettel, who he says was surprised by the news that he would not be retaining his spot for the next F1 season. Hypothesizing on why he might have failed to emulate Schumacher during his tenure in the team, Binotto pointed to turbulence at the top of the team.
After mentioning similar problems plaguing Fernando Alonso’s efforts with the team, and talking of his return to-be with Renault in 2021, he said he was unsurprised. Remarking on a possible future outside of Ferrari, he suggested that such a thing would be unlikely.
Here is the link to the podcast as FOM prohibits embedding: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdWRpb2Jvb20uY29tL2NoYW5uZWxzLzQ5NjQzMzkucnNz/episode/dGFnOmF1ZGlvYm9vbS5jb20sMjAyMC0xMi0wODovcG9zdHMvNzc0NjgyOA?hl=en-IN&ved=2ahUKEwjql5n9hcPtAhXHyDgGHQ1UA4kQjrkEegQIBBAF&ep=6
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