Mattia Binotto would not have hired Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari
Ferrari Team Principal between January 2019 and November 2022, Mattia Binotto has declared that he would not have recruited Lewis Hamilton if he were still in charge of the Italian team.
Ferrari’s recruitment of Lewis Hamilton for 2025 appears to be the transfer of the century. The collaboration between the driver and the team with the most impressive statistics in the history of Formula 1 is making more than one person salivate. One of the key figures in this association is Fred Vasseur, team principal of Ferrari since January 2023, who is working on turning around the Prancing Horse so it can reach new heights.
For his predecessor, Mattia Binotto, the Frenchman continues the work started by the Italian during his term: « Fred was able to continue the project under the sign of continuity, he did not revolutionize a structured and functional organization », he expressed in the columns of the Corriere della Sera. « He also made his own choices, but I repeat: if Ferrari wins, I am happy because I know the team and I know how much effort has been made to bring it to a certain level. »
A transfer that Binotto does not approve of.
Mattia Binotto was brought to mention the arrival of the Briton on the Maranello side. If Hamilton made a very good move by going to Ferrari from a personal point of view, the Italian responded no if he had to make that choice for his former team. According to him, the Reds should have acted differently to put Charles Leclerc in the best conditions. Ferrari had already set its sights on other talents. If the future of the team relies on a talent, it is Charles Leclerc and he is the one who must be the one taken towards victory.
The scenario could have been different if Binotto had not resigned from Ferrari. Especially since the relationship between the Italian and the Monegasque had deteriorated in his final months at the helm of the team. Informed of this statement by Marca, his former driver Carlos Sainz seemed surprised by his opinion: « Binotto says he wouldn’t have signed Lewis? […] I keep my opinion to myself ».
