Mattia Binotto Confirms Ferrari U-Turn Over Sebastian Vettel, Reveals Reasons for the Same

Published 07/03/2020, 8:10 AM EDT

Follow Us

Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto acknowledged the team’s change in the decision regarding Sebastian Vettel. The Italian confirmed Ferrari’s u turn over the German’s future within the team. Furthermore, Binotto revealed that he understands Vettel’s ‘surprised’ reaction.

America’s Favorite Video Today

Binotto on Sebastian Vettel

The drama surrounding Sebastian Vettel’s unexpected split from Ferrari took a new turn yesterday. The 4 times World Champion shocked the world once again with a frank and honest admission. Turns out, the Maranello outfit never made the German driver an offer for 2021.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

There was no sticking point. It was obviously a surprise to me when I got the call from Mattia when he told me that there was no further intention from the team to continue.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest F1 stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

“We never got into any discussions, there was never an offer on the table and therefore, there was no sticking point,” said Vettel, speaking to media yesterday.

The revelation sparked outrage across social media with many fans calling out Ferrari for not sticking to its words. Back in preseason testing and the team’s SF1000 car launch, Binotto asserted that Vettel was a priority to continue with Ferrari for 2021.

As a result, many expected the 4 times World Champion to renew his contract for next season. That never came to pass but the reason surrounding Vettel’s exit remains largely unknown.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

There were numerous rumors regarding the German’s Ferrari contract. Some believed Vettel turned down Ferrari’s offers, citing money as a reason. While others claimed the Former World Champion was unhappy with the length and duration of his contract. As we now know, that was never the case.

Binotto revealed that Ferrari changed its plans following the Coronavirus shutdown. This partly supports Ferrari’s theory. However, Carlos Sainz disclosed that he was in contact with the team over the winter break.

Ferrari was clearly holding serious talks with the Spaniard well before the season began. One can’t help but wonder if Ferrari wanted the 4 times World Champion at all.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Mattia Binotto added that the upcoming rules and regulations also played a part in Ferrari’s sudden reversal.

With Vettel’s recent remarks, there will surely be some awkward moments within the Scuderia during the season.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by:

Abhishek Bharadwaj

720Articles

One take at a time

Abhishek Bharadwaj is an F1 author and content strategist at EssentiallySports. Having joined ES in January 2020, he has over 700 articles to his name. While he was first introduced to the world of F1 in 2006, he started religiously following the sport in 2012 and has had an undying passion for it ever since.
Show More>

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

EDITORS' PICK

America’s Favorite Video Today