Red Bull F1 representative ‘Binotto’s departure from Ferrari should have been a difficult decision'[F1-Gate.com]

Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner defended Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto’s achievements, saying the decision to leave the team was “very difficult” after disappointment in F1.

Following Scuderia Ferrari’s failure to win the F1 world championship this year, Mattia Binotto has resigned after feeling he did not have the full support of Ferrari’s senior management team.

Ferrari has accepted the resignation of Mattia Binotto and is now appointing a successor to Alfa Romeo F1 team principal Frederic Vasseur.

Mattia Binotto’s departure could unsettle Red Bull’s main rival Ferrari, with Christian Horner acknowledging the fine work done by Italian Binotto at Maranello.

Asked if he was surprised by Mattia Binotto’s departure, Christian Horner said: “To be fair to Mattia, he has done a great job producing a very competitive car and engine for Ferrari. I think they have, certainly this year. Naturally, they had their operational moments.”

“He has dedicated a long period of his career and life to Ferrari and I’m sure it must have been a very difficult decision for him to leave.”

“Obviously there’s a lot of pressure on that team because it’s effectively a national team and also an OEM team.”

“I’ve been at Red Bull since 2005 so I think I’ll be sitting across the table from the sixth team principal. Of course, you know there’s a lot of pressure on that job.”

Christian Horner attended the FIA’s annual awards ceremony on Friday evening and was awarded Red Bull’s first Constructors’ Championship trophy since 2013.

Reflecting on his battle with Ferrari this year, Christian Horner cited Max Verstappen’s victory at F1’s Emilia Romagna GP as a key moment in getting Red Bull’s championship ambitions back on track after a rocky start. .

“I think they (Ferrari) had a faster car than us at the start of the season,” Horner said.

“But we were able to keep fighting and that was very important.”

“It was 21 races in the championship because we missed the first race with a double retirement, but we had to make sure they didn’t let us go.”

“And one of the important weekends for me was the Imola sprint race and the victory”.

“Winning both races to get a one-two and beat Ferrari at home was a great thing psychologically for us as a team, and I think potentially for them too.”

“After that, we developed the car, we improved it, we took some weight off and I think the speed went up.”

Category: F1 / Red Bull / Ferrari