Maurizio Arrivabene, Ferrari team principle, has been sacked and replaced by the teams technical chief, Mattia Binotto. After Ferrari's attempts to claim the world championship and constructors championship failed in both 2017 and 2018, Ferrari have decided on a major shift in team management. Starting with the team principle...
Ferrari have confirmed stating: "After four years of untiring commitment and dedication, Maurizio Arrivabene is leaving the team. The decision was taken together with the company’s top management after lengthy discussions related to Maurizio’s long term personal interests as well as those of the team itself." Continuing with "With immediate effect, Mattia Binotto will take over as Scuderia Ferrari’s Team Principal. All technical areas will continue to report directly to Mattia."
Arrivabene has starred as the team principle for Ferrari since 2014 after being appointed by the late Sergio Marcheonie, who praised Arrivabene for his "thorough understanding not just of Ferrari but also of the governance mechanisms and requirements of the sport."
Is this move necessary for the team to blossom or is this just an impulse move after such a tragic loss of Sergio Marchionne, former Ferrari CEO?
2018 was a bit of a déjà vu season for the iconic scarlet coloured team as they failed yet again to secure either one of the championship titles. However, the team did make huge strides and at many points were the fastest cars on track. But a mixture of many things, some being strategy and occasional driver error, led them to trail behind the silver arrows and pick up the pieces in second.
One of the major errors occurred in Japan, in which Ferrari had practically rolled the dice on their tyre choice for qualifying... Unsurprisingly they came off worse, in 4th and 7th position on the grid! Moreover Ferrari's strategy, even just in the free practice sessions, led to mistakes. In Russia, both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen ran out of time to complete laps in FP3, ultimately bringing the team down on set up and technical improvements. Although there may not be masses to achieve from these practise sessions, there is always something to gain whether it be figuring out the racing line or testing the latest technical parts.
So who is the new team principle? Mattia Binotto has been a part of Ferrari since he joined in 1995 as the test engine engineer, he continued in this role until 2003 where he transferred to a similar role as the race engine engineer. From 2007, he was promoted to chief engineer, he stayed there for two years before being promoted again to the head of engine and KERS operations. Binotto was then appointed to deputy director before moving to be the chief operating officer. However, more recently, 2016 brought a new challenge for him, chief technical officer. But now, the biggest promotion, team principle!
It's safe to say, Ferrari is in good hands. After such a huge stint with the team, in many different areas, Mattia Binotto will have extensive knowledge of how the team is run and ways to improve it. But how will the Italian perform under such immense pressure?
After such an immense driver change and now this... What else is to be changed?
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