Ferrari has denied Italian and international media reports that Mattia Binotto’s time as its Formula 1 team boss will be up at the end of the 2022 season.
Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has swatted away suggestions that he is set to be sacked from his role as Team Principal.
Stories emanating from Italy claimed the Scuderia was set to axe Binotto after the squad failed to sustain its world championship challenge.
Charles Leclerc headed the drivers’ title in the early part of the season, winning two of the opening three races of the year.
Ferrari looked to have the strongest car, though its charge waned as the year wore on.
A combination of reliability issues and driver errors have been compounded by operational mistakes.
That saw Max Verstappen and Red Bull overhaul the Prancing Horse in both the drivers’ and teams’ championships.
The Milton Keynes squad also out-developed Ferrari over the course of the year, with the RB18 now the accepted class of the field.
The Prancing Horse’s shortcomings in 2022 have been, in some corners, pinned on the man in charge.
“I’m pretty relaxed,” Binotto said when asked about rumours he’s set to be sacked.
“The reason why I’m relaxed is that I always [have] open, frank, constructive discussion with my bosses, my chairman, not only on the short term but the medium and long term.
“More than that, I think if I look back at the season, yes we had a few ups and downs.
“We are not today the fastest car on track, but I think we achieved our main objective, which was to be back, to be competitive in that new era of the 2022 cars.
“That is proving that the team has worked very well through difficult moments, as 2020/2021, we remain united.
“Yes, there are still a lot of things that we need to progress, weaknesses have been shown, but I’m pretty sure that, as we did in the past, we will review, we will try to address them.
“Furthermore, I think this season has been outstanding in terms of pole positions or qualifying pace – not as good in terms of race pace.
“We know that we need somehow to improve furthermore the race pace because then strategy or whatever is around it is a lot easier if you’ve got a strong car in the race itself.
“So yes, I’m relaxed. I’m more than that- I’m really focused on what we need to do and concentrated with the team.”
Ferrari sits second in the constructors’ championship heading into today’s Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final race of the season, while Leclerc is tied on points with Sergio Perez for second in the drivers’ championship.
Leclerc must finish ahead of his Red Bull rival to claim second in the championship, while Mercedes trails the Scuderia by 19 points in the teams’ standings.
“I’m pretty relaxed” – Binotto “I’m pretty relaxed” – Binotto
Perez leads a Red Bull 1-2 in the final practice
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