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Binotto Resigning Doesn't Mean Ferrari Will Magically Win F1 Title in 2023

The year was 2008. It was my first time at an official drift event, which was more of a show than a competition. Someone had just imported a nice Nissan S14 from Japan and was in a tandem with a guy in a turbocharged BMW E30. All of a sudden, someone from the audience yelled out: "Ha, I'm a much better drifter than that guy." The driver heard him, stopped the car, and invited the spectator to get behind the wheel. Naturally, he lost all his courage at that point.
Binotto Resigning Doesn't Mean Ferrari Will Magically Win F1 in 2023 6 photos
Photo: Scuderia Ferrari
Binotto Resigning Doesn't Mean Ferrari Will Magically Win F1 in 2023Binotto Resigning Doesn't Mean Ferrari Will Magically Win F1 in 2023Binotto Resigning Doesn't Mean Ferrari Will Magically Win F1 in 2023Binotto Resigning Doesn't Mean Ferrari Will Magically Win F1 in 2023Binotto Resigning Doesn't Mean Ferrari Will Magically Win F1 in 2023
What we're trying to say here is that it's a lot easier to judge someone from the side. And with the rise of Social Media, more and more people have started feeling the need to express their "expert" opinions on any topic.

At one point it was infuriating to see average people saying that they'd do a much better job at driving an F1 car than a pro driver. Then it became hilarious. Now most of us have learned to disregard useless opinions altogether. Still, F1 is feeling the effects of a brainless wave of hate comments that have been surfacing in recent years.

Looking at things from the driver's perspective, it doesn't even matter how good you are. Someone will still find a way to spill out some hateful words about yourself, your family, or your team. It happened to Verstappen recently, and it feels mind-boggling to see the whole thing unfold.

Commenting about someone's decision to disregard a team order without knowing all the facts is like trying to solve an equation without knowing all the figures. You might as well start your theory regarding the formation of the Universe.

But now on to the main topic of our story: Mattia Binotto's resignation from Ferrari. It's not hard to understand that Scuderia fans are eager to see their favorites back on top of everyone else once again.

At the beginning of the 21st century, Michael Schumacher won five World Championships in a row, and he had millions of fans across the world. But Ferrari hasn't won that title since Raikkonen's success in 2007. A 15-year hiatus is a tough time to cope with.

But things have been worse before. Schumacher's victory at the start of the new millennium put an end to a difficult period in the team's F1 endeavor. They hadn't won the World Championship since 1979 when Jody Scheckter and Gilles Villeneuve delivered a resounding 1-2 podium at the end of the season.

Fast forward to 2022, Ferrari fans had high hopes for both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. But things didn't always work out the way they would have wanted to. Once again, the "experts" felt the need to express their opinion, and for them, the situation was clear: it was Binotto's fault.

The question is, how can you judge someone without even knowing them in person? How can you blame all the team's problems on that person, without knowing all the facts? Leclerc could have won the championship this year, but is it normal to blame the outcome on Binotto alone? Is that all there is to it?

We're not going to think about the hundreds if not thousands of people involved in Ferrari's F1 campaign this year. Saying that Binotto was unfit to lead the team when you've never even stepped inside an F1 paddock before is simply ludicrous. Let's not forget that he has been with the company for almost 30 years and that he's worked his way up from a simple position in the engine department.

It's not clear right now if his departure will affect the stability of the team, or if it will improve its results. But we would like to take a brief look at what Scuderia Ferrari has achieved since he was promoted to team principal in 2019. That year, Leclerc and Vettel racked up three victories and an additional 16 podium finishes. They ended up taking P4 and P5 in the Championship, with Ferrari securing P2 in the Constructor's rankings.

Things didn't go as well in 2020, with Ferrari falling to P6 out of 10 constructors. Leclerc and Vettel were now P8 and P13 respectively, with no victories and just three podiums overall. With Carlos Sainz onboard the Scuderia went up to P3 for 2021, but no races were won that year. Instead, they had to settle with five podiums.

Looking at how things went in 2022, you can see an evolution: P2 in the Constructors' Championship, P2 for Leclerc, and P5 for Sainz. That adds up to four race wins and an additional 16 podiums! Let's not forget that Jean Todt was appointed Team Principal for Scuderia Ferrari in 1993 and needed seven years before achieving success with Michael Schumacher.

Was it too early for Binotto to resign? Perhaps. Is it ok for people outside of the sport to assume that he is the sole person to blame for Ferrari's current situation? Certainly not! So we'd like to wish him the best of luck in his next project. There are now two more questions left unanswered: will he move on to another team and who will take his place as Scuderia's Team Principal?
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About the author: Dragos Chitulescu
Dragos Chitulescu profile photo

The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S.
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