Charles Leclerc Absolved of Blame For Mattia Binotto Ferrari Exit Amid Rumors of Bad Blood

Mattia Binotto’s time at Ferrari has finally come to an end as the Italian boss put forward his resignation. After four years in charge, Binotto left the team after a challenging 2022 F1 season. While many believe the fallout between him and driver Charles Leclerc is one of the reasons behind this action, Mika Hakkinen doubts it.

When asked about it in a Sky Sports interview, Hakkinen said, “I don’t know about that.” He further went on to share, “I always thought, when I was racing in motor racing, in Formula 1, it’s not the question about if you like somebody. It’s a question of how good they are, how committed they are. How intelligent, how clever they are. That’s what matters.”

“It doesn’t matter what they look or do you like them or not. That’s [got] nothing to do with your success. You know you have to work with your team, you have to respect the people’s talent, the knowledge, commitment for the sport, so I don’t know. I doubt it’s the true story,” further asserted the two-time F1 world champion.

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Amid all this, Leclerc put up an emotional post to bid goodbye to his team boss. With a “Thank you for everything” caption, the Monegasque let the world know what he feels about the 53-year-old boss as he parted ways with the team.

Charles Leclerc and Mattia Binotto’s fallout

The 2022 F1 season has been difficult for Scuderia Ferrari. After starting the year as hot favorites, the Maranello-based team barely managed P2 in both driver’s and Constructors’ categories. As the strategy was one of the biggest reasons for the Italian team’s failure, Charles Leclerc had enough reasons not to be on talking terms with Mattia Binotto.

French newspaper Lequipe and Australian media Fox Sports revealed that the Monegasque was not on talking terms after the 2022 British Grand Prix, where Binotto was seen publicly scolding the driver post-race.

Leclerc, who later opened up, that the Italian boss was “pissed off” since he was too down after the Silverstone race. The British race saw a series of calls that went against the former Sauber driver as he finished fourth, while his teammate Carlos Sainz picked up the win to rub salt in the wound.

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Scuderia Ferrari is yet to announce Mattia Binotto’s replacement in the team. As of now, two names have come up, one being Alfa Romeo boss Frederic Vasseur, while the other is former Formula 1 managing director Ross Brawn. It’ll be interesting to see who gets to sit at the top position in the Ferrari F1 team ahead of next season.