09 January 2023 , 21:06
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Ferrari have reportedly paid extra cash to Mattia Binotto to prevent their former team principal from signing for another team this year.
The Italian resigned from his post at the end of last season following the collapse of their title bid midway through the campaign. It is understood he felt he no longer had the full confidence of executive chairman John Elkann and chose to leave on his own terms.
Ferrari have already moved on and announced Frederic Vasseur as his replacement in December. The Frenchman introduced himself to the team and began to get familiar with the way things work at Maranello before officially starting the job this week.
Meanwhile, Binotto faces spending the rest of this year watching on from afar. That is according to Formu1a.uno, who report that the team has paid extra cash to the departing team boss to ensure he cannot take up another role within the sport for at least 12 months.
His gardening leave, initially expected to be six months, has reportedly been doubled to make sure that he doesn't join a rival. Under the conditions of the deal, Binotto is also apparently prohibited from accepting a role with F1 owner Liberty Media or the FIA during that period.
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Meanwhile, Ferrari released the first photo of Vasseur working at Maranello on Monday, his first official day in the job. The snap showed the former Alfa Romeo chief chatting with the team's race director Laurent Mekies, who will be staying on.
There have been no other major changes announced in terms of top engineers at Ferrari. It seems Vasseur, whether by choice or because he has been told he must, may be working with many of the same staff as Binotto had been during the 2022 season.
But there will still be some changes in terms of how the team operates. While Binotto was overseeing the technical department while also team principal, Vasseur is set to give the engineers more autonomy and responsibility.
Mekies himself is expected to have his role simplified, having had a swathe of different responsibilities last year. A sporting director will be promoted internally to help with that. Plus, Simone Resta is expected to return to the team to be the chief designer of their 2024 car, having been sent to work with engine customer Haas as their technical director.