Tuesday appears to be the conclusion of team principal silly season, with Ferrari’s, McLaren’s, and Alfa Romeo’s new bosses having been announced.
Sticking with Ferrari, due to the role having been a poisoned chalice over the last decade, Alfa Romeo team principal Frederic Vasseur has made the expected switch to the Italians.
He will officially become the Maranello-based team’s boss on January 9th, with Mattia Binotto’s final day being the 31st of December.
It will see the role held by a Frenchman for the first time since Jean Todt, who was at the helm of Michael Schumacher’s five World Championships for Ferrari.
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Vasseur will be expected to take Ferrari back to glory, with Binotto having arguably fallen at the final hurdle.
Since taking on the role in 2019, Binotto has seen the side fall to the midfield embarrassingly, but also regain their place as one of the teams to beat.
2022 was a year where Ferrari had the tools at their disposal to win either title; however, they were ultimately outdone by their own incompetence.
Ferrari made far too many errors throughout the season, with the side having been unable to capitalise on the F1-75’s potential.
Some have blamed Binotto for the team’s countless errors, whilst most have warned the Italians that his departure could “set Ferrari back three years”.
“There is a magic word in Formula 1 when it comes to being successful, and it is continuity,” ex-F1 driver Christian Danner told Sport1.
“I fear that Binotto’s departure will set Ferrari back three years.”
Whilst Vasseur does have more experience as a team principal, Binotto’s experience working with Ferrari is largely unmatchable.
Binotto has worked for the Scuderia since 1995, where he joined the team initially as an intern before becoming one of the best technical directors in the sport.
Former Ferrari driver Ivan Capelli, though, thinks the team do need a new leader, with him believing that Ferrari were “missing” a team leader in 2022.
Capelli labels this as the “missing piece”, with Vasseur therefore potentially completing the Italians puzzle.
“The big problem with Ferrari is that the team stops developing the car halfway through the season,” Capelli told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
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“There are certainly good engineers at Ferrari.
“The 2022 car was fast, but then there were flaws in reliability, pit stop management and strategies. But the basics were there.
“Someone leading the way, however, was missing. And it’s the most important missing piece at Ferrari today,” said Capelli.