At the 2020 Turkey Grand Prix, Mattia Binotto missed his first race as Ferrari team principal as he decided to stay in Maranello to focus on the squad’s 2021 car. And ahead of this year’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Binotto announced that he would miss more races this season as the team turns its attention to the new F1 regulations in 2022.
Ferrari will have a lot on their plate this year as they try to be the front-runners in Formula 1 on the track again – while the team also has the double challenge of preparing a new car to meet the radically new F1 regulations of To be fulfilled in 2022 as a new drive unit.
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And for these reasons, Binotto decided to have the “well-oiled” Ferrari ship steered by himself at certain Grands Prix this year.
“This year we face a number of challenges,” said Binotto in the official program of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 2021. “This is the first season in which there is a budget ceiling in which we also have to develop a completely new car, and with an aggregate that must last at least three years. ” [from 2022].
“There is so much to do that I use my time as efficiently as possible. I know I am leading a very effective team, a well-oiled machine that almost runs by itself. Nevertheless, I will still attend many races and, for those who are not on the track, in the remote garage in Maranello, it’s practically like being on the pit wall. “
Binotto will be at Imola, however, as his drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz look to build on a promising start to Ferrari’s 2021 season. And Binotto said that races in the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari – to give Imola its real name – are always a special occasion for the Scuderia.
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“Imola is the next Formula 1 track from Maranello and, together with Monza, our home race,” said Binotto. “The Autodromo bears the name of our founder and his son, which makes everything even more meaningful for the team. When both races were on the calendar, the passionate and loudest fans were always in Imola, while Monza was more international.
“When we arrived first thing in the morning to prepare for the race, you saw a wall made of Tifosi in Rivazza. Knowing that most of them were there all night always gave us a huge boost of energy. “
For more from Binotto, including his favorite memories from a quarter of a century of Ferrari service, click here to see a digital version of the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix racing program.
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