Charles Leclerc will not dare to speculate on Mattia Binotto’s future at Ferrari as there are rumors of possible changes after 2022.
All eyes are on Ferrari for this weekend’s action, with the Scuderia under intense scrutiny at their home race at Monza.
While the F1-75’s performance is enough to allow Leclerc and Carlos Sainz the chance to fight for victory at the Italian Grand Prix, the team’s overall performance this season has seen their bid for the title collapses against the behemoth of Red Bull and Max Verstappen. .
As a result of this performance, which has not been helped by several strategic errors and a lack of operational acumen, there has been much media speculation about Binotto’s future as team boss and whether the president of Ferrari John Elkann could make changes for next season. .
Leclerc, as a driver who has seen his title bid fall due to these issues, was asked about the difficulty of dealing with the rumors as they headed to the pressure cooker of Monza to face the fans .
“There are always rumors around a Formula 1 team and especially with Ferrari,” Leclerc told the media about the situation.
“I think the most important thing right now is not to get distracted by what’s going on around you.
“We are very close as a team and I think we need to continue that way.”
Leclerc pointed to Ferrari’s increased performance compared to 2021, a winless season for the Scuderia, and said the team’s overall momentum is going in the right direction.
“We’ve shown that we’ve been really good from last year to this year doing that kind of performance,” he said.
“We must continue working in this direction. Obviously, removing all these outside rumors, I didn’t hear him in particular, but obviously we just have to focus on our own work.”
Former Ferrari drivers chime in on the rumor
Alongside Leclerc were former Ferrari main drivers Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, who both offered their take on how they dealt with rumors of their bosses being sacked.
During Alonso’s tenure at Ferrari between 2010 and 2014 Stefano Domenicali was in the spotlight, the Italian tendering his resignation at the start of 2014 when the F-14T proved to be less competitive.
“At least in my case, I never paid too much attention to rumours,” Alonso said.
“So all these things when you’re at Ferrari… when you’re in Formula 1, in general you have to perform, otherwise things will change. It’s the same for drivers, mechanics, designers and bosses. There’s a enormous pressure. This is not a charity event. This is professional sport.”
For Vettel, his arrival at the Scuderia coincided with Maurizio Arrivabene’s rise to team principal – the pair worked together until Arrivabene was replaced by Binotto at the end of 2018.
“I think when you race for Ferrari at Monza in Italy, you’re going to face rumours,” commented Vettel.
“But as Fernando said, rumors are rumours. I haven’t heard that particular rumour, but I think it’s probably something you’ll have to deal with when you’re racing for Ferrari in Italy.
“But anyway, in two weeks we will be in another place and you have to face less. There are rumors, but like I said, I don’t know anything right now.”