Silly season has come early to Formula 1 this year. But it’s not driver moves that are contributing to the commotion yet. It’s team principals, engineers, and personnel either stepping down or moving from one team to another—from AlphaTauri Team Principal Franz Tost announcing his departure from F1 to some Red Bull engineers joining Ferrari for 2024 and some declining the offer. And the latest addition to the rumor mill is Mattia Binotto.

Will former Ferrari Team boss Mattia Binotto return to F1? That’s the question of the hour. If there’s anyone in F1 who has stayed loyal to a team their entire career, it’s Mattia Binotto. But that might change soon.

Mattia Binotto might join One of Ferrari’s rival

Binotto started his F1 career in Ferrari in 1995. Since then, he has worked his way up the ranks, in charge of a myriad of important roles in the team along the way. In 2013, he became the head of the engine department. In 2016, he was promoted to Chief Technical Officer. And in 2019, he found his way right to the top; he became the Team Principal. The tenure didn’t last long, though, because he decided to step down after the 2022 season—the season Ferrari had gotten closest to the top since 2019. And a return to F1 didn’t look too probable.

But after the Canadian GP, according to British journalist Joe Saward, rumors are that Mattia Binotto is reportedly in talks with McLaren, Ferrari’s old-time rival. Although his role isn’t clear, the possibility of him becoming the Chief Technical Officer is limited as McLaren moved away from the structure of having just one. Instead, the Woking team will have three in place from 2024, each responsible for different technical aspects.

One of the technical officers David Sanchez, who will be in charge of Car Concept and Performance, will join the team after a decade at Ferrari. Considering he’s worked with Binotto before, McLaren might make them work together again. 

Read More: 5 Months After Ferrari Divorce, Mattia Binotto Gets an Unexpected Lease of Life As the Team Principal Roulette Tipped to Resume

When Binotto resigned from Ferrari, the Maranello team placed him on gardening leave for 12 months, disallowing him from moving to another team in that period. But at the end of 2023, that time will have elapsed, and if the rumor mill is correct, Binnoto may shift to Woking. While there have been rumors about former Ferrari personnel, the Maranello team has also been in the news for the wrong reasons.

Ferrari may have Milked Benefits of Lewis Hamilton Rumors

A few weeks ago, there were rumors that Ferrari supposedly offered Lewis Hamilton a $49 million deal to join the Scuderia. And now, there are speculations that Ferrari started the rumors to get engineers and high-level figures from other teams interested in joining Maranello. Given Ferrari’s current form, getting figures to join the team is becoming increasingly difficult.

Former Ferrari driver, Gerhard Berger, seems to think that Ferrari started the rumor about Lewis Hamilton’s offer to get his engineers in Mercedes interested in joining the team. What he meant was if Hamilton could be interested in Ferrari, his engineers would be too. That move hasn’t worked out so far, and Hamilton is close to renewing his contract with Mercedes. 

Is Mattia Binotto set to return to F1 in 2024? And if he does, is McLaren the team for him? What do you think?

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