“Poor Leadership Strategy”- McLaren CEO Slams Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto

McLaren CEO Zak Brown criticized Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto for not prioritizing the F1 budget cap. The sport is currently in the midst of a heated debate between all 10 teams over the sport’s finances for 2021. With the cap not meeting Ferrari’s expectation, Binotto urged the sport not to make any hasty decisions.

The ongoing budget cap debate

From 2021, F1 will enforce a cost cap on car development. The primary aim of the cap is to bridge the gap between the top teams and the smaller teams. Additionally, the cap aims to prevent the top 3 from spending an exponential amount far greater than the competition on car development. Officially, the financial cap stands at $175M, which teams have allegedly brought down to $150M for now.

However, the midfield wants another revision to the cap and is pushing for a bigger reduction. The smaller teams want a budget cap close to $100-$125M, which the top 3 are currently opposing. All the teams are in the middle of a financial crisis due to Coronavirus, but the smaller teams are worst affected.

Mattia Binotto suggested implementing separate budget caps for customer teams and engine suppliers. Moreover, Binotto believes the sport mustn’t reach any conclusions without an extended discussion.

Brown slams Ferrari and Binotto

If Formula 1 teams fail to reach an agreement over the budget cap, teams like Williams and Haas could walk away by the end of 2020. Brown highlighted the gravity of the situation and explained the importance of making quick decisions. Furthermore, Brown slammed Binotto for his stance on the budget cap.

“I think we all recognize that in modern times we are going through the biggest crisis the world has seen,” 

“You have countries shut down, industries shut down. To not be in a hurry to address what’s going on, I think is a critical mistake.

“It’s living in denial”

” And I think you would find pretty much every president or prime minister or CEO around the world was operating in a hurry to tackle this issue head-on. To take our time I think is a very poor leadership strategy,” said Brown, speaking to the media via Zoom.

The top teams have their own arguments for not supporting a reduced cap, some of which are plausible. However, the budget cap debate must reach a conclusion sooner rather than later.