Unless it’s not telling us something, Ferrari has 81 days to install a new team principal before testing begins for the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship. Following the departure of Mattia Binotto – who resigned after 28 years of service to Ferrari – it looks like the Prancing Horse has allowed its F1 racing chief to depart without already knowing who his successor will be. Unless it has an ace up its sleeve, Ferrari has committed a cardinal sin in sports: Only let the team manager go if you know the incomer is a definite upgrade. While you can snark at Binotto’s final season at Ferrari, with its strategic blunders and panicked pitstops, you can’t deny he’s brought the team back to sharp end of the F1 grid. His blend of sharp technical knowledge, coupled with a mild manner, made him better suited to this role than I expected. It was all going in the right direction. Who takes the job? Frederic Vasseur is an obvious candidate as he knows Charles Leclerc so well and could form a good partnership with fellow Frenchman Laurent Meckies, who was Binotto’s number two. Watch this space… By: Charles Bradley, Global Editor in Chief
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