Formula 1 news: Christian Horner admits he has sympathy for axed Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto
- Planet Sport writer
- 6 February 2023
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says he felt Mattia Binotto did a good job at Ferrari last season and doesn't think he should have lost his job.
Of course, it is important to remember that Horner and Red Bull are direct rivals of Ferrari, so it would be in their best interest for the Scuderia to be struggling as much as possible.
With that being said, Horner claims that Ferrari took a big leap forward in 2022, despite hardly challenging Red Bull at all for the entire year.
"It has been interesting to watch the movement [of the team principals]," said Horner. "I have sympathy for Mattia, because ultimately he'd done a good job.
"Last year, that was a big step forward from where they had been, so that must be tough for him after such long service that he had given to Ferrari."
Horner also took the opportunity to take a cheaky dig at Binotto's replacement Fred Vassuer, who was often at loggerheads with the heads of top teams while in charge of Sauber.
"Fred, it'll be interesting to see if he's still arguing about the same points that he was for Sauber in upcoming meetings," said Horner.
"But again, he's a very capable guy. So yeah, it'll be very interesting. I'm sure they're all very capable people. So we'll get to see what the dynamics are at the next Formula 1 Commission meeting."
Horner is adamant that Red Bull's focus is solely on putting out the fastest car possible, regardless of what is happening at their rivals.
"I think [what's next is] to keep delivering, to keep developing the team and the business here," he said.
"I think the next massive challenge for us is the powertrains. I mean, we've got a start-up engine company taking on Ferrari, Mercedes, Alpine, VW Group… And so that is a massive challenge."
"We've got 150 weeks left before we have an engine driving out of a pitlane for the first time in the back of a Red Bull car. So that focuses the mind, it's a big challenge.
"It's a ballsy undertaking, to think that an independent team can take on those types of manufacturers."
"But again, it comes down to the same culture, the same approach that we've had to going racing on the chassis side, and ultimately having everything under one roof and the benefits that brings long-term is significant.
"So that's taking quite a bit of my time and attention just to make sure that we're hitting our targets in that area."