Get to Know the New Ferrari Boss Mattia Binotto

Published 01/08/2019, 3:37 AM EST

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Swiss-Italian engineer Mattia Binotto has been named as Ferrari’s new Team Principal. He will be succeeding Maurizio Arrivabene. But, what makes him the right man to lead the Scuderia Ferrari team into 2019?

Ferrari’s new team boss is theoretically a highly suitable candidate to be at the helm of the team for 2019. Maurizio Arrivabene was a long time member of the Maranello squad, having joined Ferrari in the late 1990s. However, Binotto’s involvement with the team stretches back even further. In fact, his whole life seems to have been building towards this moment.

Despite this move from Ferrari appearing to be a bit of a bolt from the blue, it’s been coming for a while. Former Ferrari Chairman Sergio Marchionne is understood to have already planned to replace Arrivabene for Binotto for 2019. Sadly, with his tragic passing in July, it looked as though Arrivabene was to get another chance.

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However, Binotto is clearly aware of his impending appointment as team principal. With Mercedes & Renault eager to get hold of him should Ferrari drop him, it appears Binotto is more valuable than Arrivabene.

via Imago

Swiss-born Italian Binotto is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal Polytechnic of Lausanne in Switzerland. He threw his hat in the Ferrari ring and obtained a Masters degree in Automotive Engineering through the “Dipartimento di Ingegneria Enzo Ferrari (Engineering Department of Enzo Ferrari)” at Modena University.

Graduating in 1994, Binotto was snapped by former team boss Jean Todt. Under ambitious new CEO Luca Di Montezemelo, Binotto was under the tutelage of John Barnard and, later, Rory Byrne, then Technical Directors at Ferrari. Binotto was initially a Test Engine Engineer before moving up to the race team in 1997.

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Working primarily with Rubens Barrichello as a race engineer in the early 2000s, Binotto moved up to take the role of Chief Engineer in 2007. He oversaw the Driver’s & Constructor’s World Championships in 2007 and the team’s most recent Constructor’s win in 2008. He then switched to Head of Engine & KERS Operations in 2009 when Hybrid technology first started showing its face in F1.

Appointed as Deputy Director of Engine & Electronics in late 2013, he became the Chief Operating Office of Power Unit in 2014. Binotto helped rectify the issues encountered by Ferrari with the first Hybrid V6. The 2014 engine, under Luca Marmorini, was a disappointment, but the 2015 engine was a clear step forward. In mid-2016, Binotto was appointed as Chief Technical Officer of the team, and was responsible for the overall design of the largely successful 2017 & 2018 title challengers.

Interestingly, Binotto nearly signed with Renault and Mercedes. Amid the flurry of changes at Renault in the wake of Daniel Ricciardo’s appointment, Binotto was also well sought after. However, he chose to remain loyal to Ferrari.

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With Ferrari’s 2018 title defeat coming as a result of errors and bad decisions rather than a lack of competitiveness, the board have decided to oust Arrivabene from his role. With the man responsible for the technical direction of the team now in overall control of the Gestione Sportiva, there will be an immense amount of pressure on him. Presumably, after a quarter of a century with the Scuderia and learning from some of the brightest talents ever seen in the sport, Binotto is both politically adept and culturally attuned enough to be able to shrug off the expectations now firmly on his shoulders.

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Written by:

Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
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