Ferrari’s current boss, Mattia Binotto, resigned from his position by the end of this year. Meanwhile, Christian Horner cracks jokes on the Scuderia’s bossless period yet finds them a “Formidable” rival for 2023. So far, the new principal’s name is not announced. Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna is set to oversee the F1 team while the search for a successor is ongoing. But several famous personalities from the F1 paddocks have been under consideration, including Christian Horner.
The main reason why Mattia had to resign is said to be the intolerable pressure he had to face in the team’s downfall era. Apparently, he took the responsibility on his shoulder for Scuderia’s failure and early budget finish in the 2022 season. Christian Horner meanwhile finds it funny how the Scuderia team managed their expenses this season which became an issue to eventually lose everything they had initially in the season. Starting the season with three wins, Charles Leclerc did an amazing job. But soon after, the team halted bringing updates. Mattia even suggested it was because the team was under threat of breaching the budget of $140 million.
“Ferrari Is Strong, But The Team Just Fired The Most Of Them,” Says Horner
Mattia Binotto joined the royal Scuderia Ferrari team in 1995 as an engineer on the test team. The most successful era of Ferrari, the times of the Legend Schumacher, had Mattia in the team. The Italian never left the team in its doom. Apparently, he worked till 2018, with different roles, in 2019, finally shifting to the team’s principal position. But, after facing disappointments for two years, Binotto finally realized it is time to leave the team and give others a chance. He accepted that it was a mistake that they spent the cost cap budget in the mid of the season, for which the team gets mocked by Christian Horner.
The rival team, Red Bull, talked about Ferrari in a Q&A event attended by Mirror Sport. When the host asked Horner if he still believes that Ferrari can challenge Red Bull next year, he said YES! However, he did not fail to crack a little joke on Ferrari. With a simile on his face, Christian Horner said, “Well, Ferrari has just fired most of their team,” the guest laughed aloud hearing this.
Christian Horner Concerned With Mercedes Return Next Year
Later Horner admitted that this year the F1-75 was not easy to be defeated. And, definitely, the Scuderia will be more difficult next year. About Mercedes, Red Bull’s principal believed that the team did not enjoy playing a background role [the strong role that Mercedes has been playing since its debut]. Therefore, the motivation will be there in the Silver Arrows to “get back into the winning position,” stated Horner.
The 2022 F1 championship-winning team has concerns regarding Mercedes’ setback in the next season. Horner accepted the fact that Mercedes has a great driver Lewis Hamilton and also a rising star like George Russell. They both together have raised expectations for Mercedes to get stronger next year. Christian Horner comfortably made Red Bull’s way out in both championships this year. But, for next year, he is not 100% as he fears the rivals. For McLaren, he said, “The team is going through some changes.” Also, for Alpine, he pointed out a step upwards. And for Aston Martin, Sebastian’s replacement with Alonso Fernando is alone enough to be seen as a challenging team in the grid.
However, the Red Bull boss does not doubt their chances of winning the 2023 championship. He claimed that the team is back to its winning stage like before. And nothing can stop them from trying their best to get the most in the F1 grid.
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