In the summary: Former Ferrari driver René Arnoux says the team should have replaced Mattia Binotto as team principal a long time ago. The team announced at the end of last month that he was stepping down after four years in charge.
In short
Ferrari should have replaced Binotto years ago – Arnoux
Former Ferrari driver Rene Arnoux says the team should have replaced Mattia Binotto as team principal a long time ago. The team announced at the end of last month that he was stepping down after four years in charge.
Ferrari started the 2022 F1 season strongly but crumbled as the season went on, missing out on potential wins due to car breakdowns and mistakes by their strategists and drivers.
“The mistakes he made for me in Formula 1 are unforgivable,” Arnoux told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I have never been on Binotto’s side. Someone who says “It will be better next year, it will be better next year”, does not deserve this place.
Binotto should have been replaced “several years ago”, continues Arnoux, “I have said it several times.
“Behavior like his is intolerable when you are at the head of the best team in the world. You may or may not like Jean Todt, but he would never have said: “It will be better next year”. He won, and when he won, he thought about next year. But there are few Todt and Ron Dennis around.
Alfa Romeo needs ‘one more step’ to challenge upcoming teams
Alfa Romeo ground engineering manager Xevi Pujolar said his team was still one step behind rivals McLaren and Alpine.
The team secured sixth place in the constructors’ championship this season after leveling the points with Aston Martin. Asked by RaceFans if he thought the team could have given Alpine more of a challenge and that McLaren had reliability issues which hadn’t affected them so much at the start of the season, Pujolar replied “no, I think they still have a head start.
“To be at the level of Alpine or McLaren, we will need one more step,” he continued. “And that’s what we’ll be working on next year. The areas we need to improve – the races, the starts, the first lap and many other areas where you still see some margin – that’s where we will be much better prepared for next year.”
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Connections
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The proposed Formula 1 Grand Prix in Dublin in 1992 never crossed the starting line (Irish Times)
“A charity based in the area, The Liffey Trust, then wrote to Taoiseach Albert Reynolds with an ambitious plan to turn the streets of Dublin 1 and Dublin 3 into a racing circuit for the world’s best drivers, similar to the “Circuit street” for the Monaco Grand Prix. The proposed route was a 2.3 mile circuit from East Wall Road via Annesley Bridge, to Fairview, then turning right onto the link road between Clontarf and East Wall .
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The farewell… The best moments of Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri via YouTube)
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