'Tost and Seidl reject Ferrari offer and will not be replacing Binotto'
Rumors
- GPblog.com
It won't take much longer for Ferrari to announce that Mattia Binotto will leave the team with immediate effect. At least, that is the firm belief of the Italian media. Meanwhile, no replacement has yet been recruited and the search for a new team boss does not seem to be going very well.
A few weeks ago, Frédéric Vasseur's name first surfaced. The Frenchman is currently at the helm of Alfa Romeo Racing, but Ferrari would see a suitable successor to Binotto in him. Charles Leclerc knows Vasseur well, as the 54-year-old top man made his debut in Formula 1 in 2018. The signatures are not yet on paper, but Vasseur is the biggest contender.
Whether he is Ferrari's favourite, however, is doubtful. Corriere reports Saturday that the formation from Maranello already has rejections from several candidates in its pocket. According to the Italian medium, Ferrari simply does not have very many more options than Vasseur. Andreas Seidl(McLaren), Franz Tost (AlphaTauri) and Gerhard Berger (DTM boss and former F1 team boss) have all reportedly given Ferrari zero notice.
Is Vasseur really the right man?
Meanwhile, Vasseur is said to have already started taking Italian lessons, but internally there are also many employees who are not keen on the arrival of the Alfa Romeo team boss. One finds his curriculum vitae not very impressive. His period in management at Renault failed completely and his years at his current employer are not eye-catching either.
Binotto is the fourth team boss since 2014 departures. "Even those who dislike Binotto recognise that this further turnaround could have a negative impact on the trajectory of the car for 2023," the newspaper said. Within Ferrari, opinions seem strongly divided on which course to take.