‘Seb Was Not Expecting It’ – Mattia Binotto Opens up on His Difficult Call with Sebastian Vettel over His Ferrari Future

Letting go of a Formula One driver from a team is never an easy task. In light of that, Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto confessed that it was difficult to call up Sebastian Vettel to deliver the bad news. Unfortunately, it had to be done, so the German driver was let go by the team.

Binotto said, “The phone call was certainly very tough. I think because Seb was not expecting it. That was the most difficult one, because it was something that he was aware of, only a matter of concluding the discussion. He was not really expecting it.

“There is plenty of respect for the person and the driver. Since he was not expecting it, it was important for us to tell him very soon, early in the season.”

Informing Sebastian Vettel early was a good call

In a way, it was fortunate that Binotto and Ferrari informed Vettel early. This way, the driver could go about trying to secure his immediate future as early as possible. However, Binotto insisted that the decision was very difficult, and being the bearer of bad news was even tougher.

Luckily, everything seems to have worked out for Sebastian Vettel. The German driver has landed a 2021 seat with the newly-christened Aston Martin team. Admittedly, his teammate for the coming season is yet to be decided. However, the general consensus is that Lance Stroll will retain his seat.

For the moment, all that Sebastian Vettel can do is see out his Ferrari tenure. There is just one race remaining in the 2020 season and he just needs to get it out of the way. Hopefully, for his sake, he gets a proper swansong for the team and performs well at Abu Dhabi.

He is, without a doubt, an exceptional driver and his inputs and experience will work wonders for Aston Martin.