Former Minardi team owner Giancarlo Minardi says he believes the appointment of Mattia Binotto as new Team Principal at Ferrari is the correct decision.
Ferrari announced their decision to replace Maurizio Arrivabene on Monday. Having taken over the role from Marco Mattiaci at the end of 2014, Arrivabene was ousted from his position as team boss in order to put Technical Director Mattia Binotto into the lead role.
With Arrivabene gone and Binotto now in charge, former Italian team owner Giancarlo Minardi had plenty to say about the changes going on at his former rival’s outfit:
“I fully agree with Ferrari’s decision since I have a lot of faith in Mattia Binotto as a technician and the results have confirmed it.”
“He comes from the Ross Brawn school that gave Ferrari incredible results together with [Jean] Todt and [Michael] Schumacher.”
Intriguingly, Minardi says he doesn’t feel that changes at the top at Ferrari are quite finished. An announcement in December from the Piaggio Group stated that Sporting Director Massimo Rivola has moved onto Aprilia, and has been replaced by Laurent Mekies, who most recently worked directly with the FIA. Minardi’s comments could be possibly hinting at the rumours that current Ferrari CEO Louis C. Camilleri’s role is under threat: “I do not believe the changes are over and the next two weeks will be crucial.”
“It seems like a return to the past. The arrival of Laurent Mekies is a very positive signal and he could be an important partner in the role of Sporting Director. I know Laurent very well since he comes from the Minardi School before going to Toro Rosso and then to the FIA. He knows the Federation’s regulations and environment and this is a good sign for the future.”
Offering an opinion on how Binotto might struggle to manage things on the personnel front, Minardi said that the new Ferrari boss will have a tough challenge: “He will have a specific and not easy commitment of managing Sebastian Vettel who has to be recovered after a complicated season and who will have to find the strength to set aside 2018’s negativity.”
