Binotto ‘relaxed’ about his future as Ferrari chief

ABU DHABI

Ferrari team chief Mattia Binotto has said that he felt relaxed about his future despite reports in Italian news media that he is set to be replaced.

The easy-going Italian told reporters at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that the speculation was unfounded, but admitted he was not in control of his fate.

“Obviously when this speculation came out, I had a chat with my chairman, John Elkann,” said Binotto.

“We discussed openly what was the best way to move forward. We decided to release a statement was maybe the best way to close any speculation. Clearly there is speculation, but totally with no foundation.”

He was speaking before qualifying for yesterday’s race.

“It’s about Ferrari,” he said. “And more importantly, we must not be distracted. Obviously, it’s not down to me to decide, but I’m pretty relaxed.

“The reason why I’m relaxed is that I’m always having open, frank and constructive discussions with my bosses, with my chairman, not only for the short-term but the medium and the long-term.

“More than that, I think if I look back on the season, yes we had a few up and downs, and today we have not the fastest car on track, but I think we achieved our main objective which was to be back and to be competitive and that we know the 2022 cars.”