Scuderia Ferrari has confirmed that Maurizio Arrivabene will be leaving the team after serving as the Italian outfit’s team principal for four years. Former technical chief Mattia Binotto will be taking over the role of team principal with immediate effect.
“After four years of untiring commitment and dedication, Maurizio Arrivabene is leaving the team. The decision was taken together with the company’s top management after lengthy discussions related to Maurizio’s long-term personal interests as well as those of the team itself,” read a statement released by Ferrari.
“Ferrari would like to thank Maurizio for his valuable contribution to the team’s increasing competitiveness over the past few years, and wish him the best for his future endeavours.”
Binotto joined Ferrari in 1995 as a test engine engineer and then performed a similar role for the race team from 1997 to 2003. After a spell as chief engineer, he became head of engine and KERS in 2009, before moving up to Chief Operating Officer of the power unit division at the end of 2014,playing a key role in the upturn in performance with the V6 turbo-hybrid engine.
He then stepped up to the role of technical chief in 2016, following the team's split with James Allison, helping transform the team into a title challenger against Mercedes in 2017 and '18.
It is unclear who will replace Binotto as head of Ferrari's technical department, but the team’s statement confirms that all technical areas will continue to report directly to him.
Arrivabene has been linked with a move into a senior role at the Italian football team Juventus. He joined Ferrari as team principal for the 2015 season, succeeding Marco Mattiacci, after working with the team's long-time major sponsor Philip Morris International and sitting on the F1 Commission.
During Arrivabene's time, Ferrari won 14 out 81 races, scored 71 podiums and 12 pole positions. But he leaves after a 2018 season in which management errors were viewed as one of the key reasons for Ferrari failing to secure either world championship title.
Unnatee Gidithuri
Suraj Viswanathan
