Lack of innovation has been our Achilles’ heel – Mattia Binotto
Ferrari’s long-time member and freshly appointed chief technical officer Mattia Binotto thinks Ferrari identified the issues and flaws which hindered its ceaseless fight for reaching the top in the 2016 championship campaign.
Ferrari could not meet its own and its supporters’ expectations in 2016 after it showed a resurgence last year which saw the Scuderia score a pole position and three wins. The car proved to be unreliable, hard to develop and utterly sensitive to track temperatures.
The Maranello-based team does not lack of resources as Ferrari has invested heavily in the F1 project after Sergio Marchionne took over the regime of the Ferrari department inside the parent FIAT company.
Ferrari has lacked of stability in recent years due to departures of figures fulfilling different senior roles. Out came Fernando Alonso, Aldo Costa, Marco Mattiacci and Stefano Domenicali. Ferrari’s recent heavy departure was James Allison who left the team in mid-Summer after the tragic death of his wife earlier this year. The successful, well-respected technical chief was replaced by Mattia Binotto who has been responsible for Ferrari engine department for many years.
The appointment of the Lausanne-born engineer was welcomed with scepticism . Despite Binotto’s success in the engine department, many expressed concerns about Binotto’s ability of having a holistic view on the car design project.
Ferrari’s and the parent company FIAT’s Chairman Sergio Marchionne stressed that Mattia Binotto enjoys his full faith which was underlined by the fact that Ferrari did not approach Mercedes’ technical director Paddy Lowe whose contract with the Anglo-German team runs out at the end of 2016.
"There are still many things missing,” said Marchione, “but the team is the team and it was put in place over a period of years and we’re not about to change it now.”
“Our working practice is already different to what it was back in August, which is when Mattia Binotto took over the reins. The organizational change was also partly made to bring some calm. Put in the work and the results will come.”
Binotto admitted that teams are heading into the unknown with the mayor overhaul of the technical regulation, but he sounded hopeful about Ferrari’s chances and ability.
“There are so many changes to the rules relating to aerodynamics. We will see cars that are much quicker through the corners, under acceleration and in braking. There is nothing to say that we here in Maranello cannot build such a car…It’s just a matter of time.”
The as mechanical engineer graduated Swiss revealed that Ferrari has to be more innovative and creative if it wants to conquer the pinnacle of the motorsport again.
“What we lacked on occasions this year was the ability to react quickly. We must be able to introduce new solutions before the others do,” added Binotto.
Ferrari launches its 2017 challenger on 24th February.
