"I would have fired Mattia Binotto several years ago," asserts former Ferrari driver

Former Ferrari driver Rene Arnou feels Mattia Binotto should have been fired a long time ago.

Talking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Arnoux said that the kind of attitude shown by the former Ferrari boss was not something he'd like to see in a team principal.

Binotto had taken over from Maurizio Arrivabene in 2019. Even though the 2022 F1 season was the best for the Italian squad in a while, the number of strategic mishandlings cost the Italian his job.

Arnoux did not mince words, saying:

“I didn’t like seeing a very competitive Ferrari let the Championship slip away because we started well. It’s true that there was no reliability, but we lost some grands prix almost as if we had done it on purpose. The mistakes he (Binotto) made for me in Formula 1 are unforgivable. I’ve never been on Binotto’s side. Someone who says ‘It will be better next year, it will be better next year’, doesn’t deserve that place.'

Arnoux added that he would have fired Binotto a long time ago. He said:

“I would have fired him several years ago. I’ve said it several times. Behavior like his is intolerable when you are at the head of the most beautiful team in the world.”

Talking about one of the biggest shortcomings in picking Binotto, Arnoux said that combining the technical director and team principal roles was an unwise decision. He said:

"Bringing the two roles together was a mistake. In today’s hyper-specialised Formula 1 you can’t do everything. Vasseur has to find the right people. You don’t have to know how to make a gearbox or an engine. (Jean) Todt didn’t care."

Arnoux added:

"You must have the right, competent people in the right place. And then manage them. When you have Ross Brawn as technical director and then Rory Byrne and Paolo Martinelli you just have to make them work well. As Todt did and as Vasseur must do."

Ferrari finished second in the 2022 constructor championship, behind winners Red Bull.

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Arnoux unsure of Ferrari's future under Frederic Vasseur

Arnoux is not entirely sure of how Ferrari would fare under Frederic Vasseur. He did, however, admit that managing Alfa Romeo in Switzerland would be a completely different challenge to managing Ferrari.

He said:

“I don’t allow myself to say yes or no, because I know him very little. I met him, I spoke to him. But not enough to say whether it’s right or not. We have seen the results he has achieved with a mid-range team like Alfa. But managing Alfa in Switzerland and managing Ferrari are very different things."

Arnoux added:

“He certainly has the necessary expertise, and I hope he can pull the team together in terms of technology and strategy. Without which you can’t win the World Championship. Last year the chassis and the engine were there; the reliability wasn’t. But above all, we have made a mistake many, many, many times the strategy, and in that field, there is a good cleaning to be done. I’d say throw it all away. And find someone who’s capable.”

The 2023 F1 season is going to be crucial for the Italian team to determine the direction Ferrari take in the coming years.