2020 SEASON PREVIEW
52 GP RACING MARCH 2020
THE SEASON THAT’SABOUTto get under way
in Melbourne will be hugely important for
the Scuderia, an embattled organisation that
remains on the hunt for answers which will not
only affect the technical area. Team principal
Mattia Binotto spokeseveral times last year
about it being a “young team”, not so muchon
account of the seniority – or lack thereof – of the
team members, but because the restructuring
processes of the past few years have left many
of them “young” in their respective roles.
Binotto himself is relatively new to the role of
managing an entire team rather than atechn ical
department within it; therefore this a team which
needs to be integrated and to learn in order to
manage the stress of an entire season.
In the past, politics can, and have, come into
play. But right now, confidence in Binotto isn’t
even a matter of discussion so far as CEO Louis
Camilleri is concerned, andthere havebeen no
signs of nervousness from the Turin headquarters
of FCA group. In short, Binotto seems to havea
relatively calm season in prospect, one inwhich
he can play all the possible cards for Ferrari’s
return to a role as world title contender.
The imperativeto maintain stabilityhasn’ t
preventedthe team from making important
and potentially far-reaching decisions about
its future,though. The extensionof Charles
Leclerc’s contract untilthe endof 2024will be
the hardfoundation aroundwhich Ferrari is
buildingits future. It was adecision madeon
the basis of results, anda 2019 seasonin which
Leclerc confirmed he deservedto be elev ated
to a frontline role after justone learning year
at Alfa Romeo,andthat he haseverything he
needs tobecome Ferrari’s topdriver.Leclerc’sperformance last seasonwas good newsfor
Ferrari but, asso of ten before inF1, it meant the
team had to rev iew its hierarchies in terms of
driver status– and these processesare nevereasy.
McLaren experienced similar problems in
2007, when itpaired rookie LewisHamilton
with sitting champion Fernando Alonso. The
tension generated during that season ended with
a schism between the drive rs, and Alonsoleav ing
the team before the end of his contract. Ferrari
tried toavoid this (and there were many parallels,
including the fact thatVettel still hasa year left
on his contract)and it was clearly und erstoodat
the Sin gapore GPlast September, when theteam
createdthe perfect conditions for Vettel’sreturn
to victorylane, hoping that it would help him
recoverpsychologically after a period in which
Leclerc had won in Spa and Monzawhile Vettel
made mistakes. After years ofeasy management
(the lastproblembetw een two Ferrari drivers
had occu rred at Hockenheim in 2010,when
Alonsodemanded that FelipeMassa be o rdered
to let him past)Ferrari found itself having to
manage a change of hierarchy. The mostdifficult
momentcame in Brazil, when Vettel precipitated
a collisi on betweenthe two Ferraris; the team’s
most seniormanagement then had to makea
decision, for the present and for the future, an d
they duly made it:make no mistake, Leclerc’s
contract extension is also, in effe ct, a promotion.TOTAL
CONFIDENCE
IN BINOTTO?Leclerc showed in 2019 he
deserves a seat at thetop
table. Those performances
ultimately landed him a
long-termFerrari contractAvoiding damaging
conflict betweenVettel
and Leclerc will be crucial
if Ferrari is goingto
succeed this seasonPICTURES:MARKSUTTON;ZAKMAUGER2020 SEASON PREVIEW
52 GP RACING MARCH 2020
THE SEASON THAT’SABOUTto get under way
in Melbourne will be hugely important for
the Scuderia, an embattled organisation that
remains on the hunt for answers which will not
only affect the technical area. Team principal
Mattia Binotto spokeseveral times last year
about it being a “young team”, not so muchon
account of the seniority – or lack thereof – of the
team members, but because the restructuring
processes of the past few years have left many
of them “young” in their respective roles.
Binotto himself is relatively new to the role of
managing an entire team rather than atechn ical
department within it; therefore this a team which
needs to be integrated and to learn in order to
manage the stress of an entire season.
In the past, politics can, and have, come into
play. But right now, confidence in Binotto isn’t
even a matter of discussion so far as CEO Louis
Camilleri is concerned, andthere havebeen no
signs of nervousness from the Turin headquarters
of FCA group. In short, Binotto seems to havea
relatively calm season in prospect, one inwhich
he can play all the possible cards for Ferrari’s
return to a role as world title contender.
The imperativeto maintain stabilityhasn’ t
preventedthe team from making important
and potentially far-reaching decisions about
its future,though. The extensionof Charles
Leclerc’s contract untilthe endof 2024will be
the hardfoundation aroundwhich Ferrari is
buildingits future. It was adecision madeon
the basis of results, anda 2019 seasonin which
Leclerc confirmed he deservedto be elev ated
to a frontline role after justone learning year
at Alfa Romeo,andthat he haseverything he
needs tobecome Ferrari’s topdriver.Leclerc’sperformance last seasonwas good newsfor
Ferrari but, asso of ten before inF1, it meant the
team had to rev iew its hierarchies in terms of
driver status– and these processesare nevereasy.
McLaren experienced similar problems in
2007, when itpaired rookie LewisHamilton
with sitting champion Fernando Alonso. The
tension generated during that season ended with
a schism between the drive rs, and Alonsoleav ing
the team before the end of his contract. Ferrari
tried toavoid this (and there were many parallels,
including the fact thatVettel still hasa year left
on his contract)and it was clearly und erstoodat
the Sin gapore GPlast September, when theteam
createdthe perfect conditions for Vettel’sreturn
to victorylane, hoping that it would help him
recoverpsychologically after a period in which
Leclerc had won in Spa and Monzawhile Vettel
made mistakes. After years ofeasy management
(the lastproblembetw een two Ferrari drivers
had occu rred at Hockenheim in 2010,when
Alonsodemanded that FelipeMassa be o rdered
to let him past)Ferrari found itself having to
manage a change of hierarchy. The mostdifficult
momentcame in Brazil, when Vettel precipitated
a collisi on betweenthe two Ferraris; the team’s
most seniormanagement then had to makea
decision, for the present and for the future, an d
they duly made it:make no mistake, Leclerc’s
contract extension is also, in effe ct, a promotion.TOTAL
CONFIDENCE
IN BINOTTO?Leclerc showed in 2019 he
deserves a seat at thetop
table. Those performances
ultimately landed him a
long-termFerrari contractAvoiding damaging
conflict betweenVettel
and Leclerc will be crucial
if Ferrari is goingto
succeed this seasonPICTURES:MARKSUTTON;ZAKMAUGER