With a massive overhaul waiting to happen at Alpine, Formula 1 gears up to welcome an old friend back into the paddock. At the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, the Enstone-based team announced the shock departure of team principal, Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director, Alan Permane. Naturally, this opened a vacancy in the French team. To fill up the same, it is none other than ex-Ferrari boss, Mattia Binotto who finds himself in pole position to take over this particular hot seat despite his past failings at the Maranello-based team.

While the news of Binotto’s induction into the team hasn’t been made official yet, the Italian engineer is expected to take the reigns of the team at their UK-based headquarters sometime during the first part of September. But while Binotto looks to the future for redemption, a close confidante has dug up his ugly past at the Scuderia.

A damning revelation of Mattia Binotto’s failed Ferrari career

Binotto clung onto that coveted Ferrari team principal role for as long as he could. However, in reality, the documented gaffes of the prancing horse and the resulting embarrassment for one of the most iconic establishments in racing led to his eventual departure. Now, as he seemingly embarks on a new journey with Alpine, he is reminded that he himself was the architect of his own demise.

Revered Italian journalist, Leo Turrini was quoted by Quotidiano as saying, “I have known Mattia [Binotto] for almost 30 years. He is a smart guy, perhaps undermined by an excess of self-esteem. He had the Ferrari GP in his hand for a few years, it was his dream come true. Other dreams instead have failed, also due to his responsibility.” [translated via Google]

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The disconnect, frenzy, and instability at Alpine are pretty evident with a bevy of recent high-profile exits like Szafnauer, Permane, and ex-CEO Laurent Rossi. On top of that, this image isn’t being helped by their interim boss, Bruno Famin, too.

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Alpine make a sudden U-turn on Mattia Binotto’s future

The last thing that the French team needs now is conflicting rumors and statements flying out during a crucial period of restructuring for the team. And the team’s incumbent, yet interim boss, Bruno Famin may have actually acted to the detriment of this.

He was quoted by Sports Illustrated as quelling the talks linking Binotto to Enstone. He said, “I think I’m going to, with all my direct reports, assess what is the situation, think about what are the priorities in Enstone, to consolidate the things and we will define if we need a new structure or not and when that will be done, we will see. I will take the necessary time to do this assessment and we will decide later on.” 

What is going on at Alpine? Will Mattia Binotto really replace Famin in the coming weeks?

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