This will not change in 2022 either. After five Verstappen victories in a row, Charles Leclerc is already 116 points behind the Dutch champion. Ferrari is second in the Constructors’ Championship, 139 points behind Red Bull.
Ferrari’s team boss Mattia Binotto is criticized
When asked about Ferrari’s high error rate, Di Montezemolo said to L’Equipe: “So what? In my time we also made mistakes, as happened at Mercedes and Red Bull Racing. Only Ferrari is exposed to much more media attention. And Ferrari won’t forgive anything because it’s Ferrari.”
The result: In Monza, rumors were circulating for the first time that race director Mattia Binotto was being put to the test due to too many bankruptcies, bad luck and breakdowns. Even more: He is threatened with detachment.
“Mattia Binotto is intelligent enough to always protect his team,” emphasizes Di Montezemolo and manages to praise and criticize him at the same time. “He takes bullets for his people. Mistakes have to be understood and then corrected. Binotto is an excellent technical director, but running Ferrari’s racing department is different.”
So would he also change the team boss? The Italian: “Who am I to say that? Ferrari is like the Italian flag – a national monument. Before I brought Jean Todt to Maranello in 1993, I thought about this choice for a long time. There was a huge circus in the media. If I were looking for a new boss, I would also look outside of Formula 1.”
Not only in Monza: Ferrari is a sanctuary in Italy
That’s why he recommends that the current president, John Elkann, and CEO, Benedetto Vigna, get more involved in the fortunes of the racing team. “Formula 1 is something very special. Just being a good manager or marketing man doesn’t guarantee success in the premier class. You need passion and dedication. You have to be present day and night. You have to be very political to support your team. You have to be strong and keep your troops together.”
