Helmut Marko: Ferrari now weaker after Binotto replaced by Vasseur
Ferrari's Mattia Binotto looks to the side as he answers a question in the media pen. Baku, June 2022.
Rather than making the team stronger, Red Bull’s Helmut Marko believes Ferrari will now be weaker under Frédéric Vasseur.
After a 2022 campaign that went from great promise to bitter disappointment for Ferrari, Mattia Binotto announced that he would resign as team boss effective as of the end of the year.
The Scuderia later moved to confirm that Vasseur would leave Alfa Romeo to replace Binotto at the helm.
Ferrari were Red Bull’s closest challenger in 2022, albeit an ultimately distant one as strategy and driver errors, plus reliability issues all played major roles in the team finishing 205 points adrift of Red Bull.
But looking ahead, Marko cannot see how this change of team boss will benefit Ferrari, or even allow the team to maintain their current level.
Marko cited the fact that Vasseur has other commitments outside of the Ferrari role, such as Spark Racing Technology, which supplies chassis to Formula E as part of its portfolio, while Binotto could fully focus on Ferrari.
Instead, Marko felt that Ferrari simply needed a sporting director working alongside Binotto to steady the ship.
“In the case of Ferrari, I don’t quite understand the change,” Marko told Auto Motor und Sport. “I consider Binotto to be an excellent technician and politician.
“He was simply overwhelmed by the task. But it would have been enough to put a sporting director at his side to support him at the track and with the strategy. With the new man, who has many other jobs, I see a weakening for Ferrari.”
That being said, Marko is not complaining, as he agreed with the suggestion that the team boss continuity for Red Bull, who have had Christian Horner since the team’s formation in 2005, will be an advantage.
The same is true for Mercedes, where Toto Wolff has been in charge since 2013.
“Definitely,” said Marko when asked if Red Bull and Mercedes could be the winners from all of this. “Through stability and continuity.”
Ferrari really is the next level for Frédéric Vasseur
Vasseur’s time at Alfa Romeo-Sauber was certainly positive, the team in 2022 bouncing back in style after slipping towards the back of the pack. They started out leading the midfield after the new Technical regulations were rolled out for 2022.
Clearly, Vasseur found a way to balance his work with the team and outside interests well, but with all due respect to Alfa Romeo, moving to Ferrari really is a case of levelling up with the extra scrutiny and increase in expectations.
To Marko’s point then, it remains to be seen whether Vasseur can cope with that, or if he is at risk of stretching himself too thinly across his commitments. In such a scenario, Red Bull and Mercedes will be sitting very pretty indeed.
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