Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff claims that he had a hunch that Mattia Binotto would be dropped by Ferrari. However, he was surprised at how long Binotto held out. Toto Wolff also spoke about the possibility of Mattia Binotto joining Mercedes in the future.
Toto Wolff and Mattia Binotto had been fighting it out with each other for a long time while they headed Mercedes and Ferrari respectively. The biggest battle between them was during the 2019 season when Ferrari’s power unit’s legality was questioned by Toto Wolff.
Ferrari made it public last week that Mattia Binotto is leaving the Maranello outfit after a long 28-stint with the team. This comes after a highly disappointing season where Ferrari could not challenge for the championship due to a plethora of human errors.
Mattia Binotto’s departure means that one of the biggest jobs in Formula 1 has an opening now. Ferrari have claimed that they will announce a replacement for Binotto by next year.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff spoke on the F1 Beyond the Grid podcast and said that it is pretty evident that he and Binotto had gone head-to-head on multiple occasions. However, they had been”consolidated” throughout 2022.
“We were in a much better place,” said Toto Wolff. “But it was always clear that he was under tremendous pressure. Being a team principal at Ferrari, you better have a good contract for your exit.“
“Now, probably the unavoidable happened, but he held onto it longer than I thought,” he continued.
Toto Wolff speaks about the possibility of Mattia Binotto joining Mercedes
Mattia Binotto has one of the most impressive CVs in the Formula 1 world. Apart from being the team principal for Ferrari, he was also the technical chief of the team from 2016. Before that, he used to work as the head of the Engine division of Ferrari.
Toto Wolff was asked if this impressive CV would ever make Mercedes interested to take him in on the team. Wolff promptly denied any possibility.
Read More: Why Losing Mattia Binotto Might Hurt Ferrari in the Days to Come
“No, I think there was too much porcelain broken between us the last two years that this would be possible,” said Wolff.
However, Toto Wolff said that many other teams would certainly like to have someone like Mattia Binotto on their team. He hopes that Binotto is back to Formula 1 soon.
