“We are not good enough at politics.” says Ferrari’s F1 team boss, Mattia Binotto – Binotto promises action after accusation of cheating from other teams and the Formula 1 media.

“Formula 1 is not only a technical and sporting challenge but also a political one,” is one of the lessons learned by Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto in his failure analysis of the 2019 season at the top of the Scuderia. The Italian has identified a weakness of the Scuderia in the political game, and he wants to change this in the upcoming season. A remarkable admission, considering the long history of that particular team, historically one of the best practitioners of the political circus that is Formula 1.

“I think that’s what one of our weaknesses in the season has shown,” said the team manager in response to last year’s political squabble. Ferrari was the focus of attention especially from the second half of the season on, when speculation about the power advantage on the straights became loud.

The competition asked the FIA for some clarifications of the regulations, with controversial comments from competitors and drivers, namely Max Verstappen who famously said “This is what happens when you stop cheating” after a sudden loss of pace during the USGP weekend.

In an interview with ‘Motorsport-Total.com’ Binotto explains the difficult situation of the team in the public perception explaining that “They are pointing the finger at us”.

“We are not good enough at politics. There are people who are better. They use the media to build pressure. We have to understand that, how we can do that better and act better in the future, because that’s also part of the balance of power in a season.”

Although Ferrari proved how much the manufacturer has improved with the progress on the engine side, Binotto didn’t take the accusations about the development as a compliment. “It’s controversial and political to me. They’re pointing the finger at us. It’s all about building pressure.”

Certainly, it’s fair to say that the news and rhetoric had been dictated by the competition.

“You have to answer every question in interviews. …and there was a certain tendency, and we have to live with that. ” says Binotto.

Binotto describes his team as young, as many people would be in relatively new positions.

“As a new team we have to deal with new situations all the time.” says the Italian.

No surprise to learn that, as a former engineman, Binotto is also proud of his engine department. From the striking deficit after the introduction of the hybrid engines in 2014, the team rose to the 2019 benchmark.

“I’m very pleased and I know that something like this doesn’t happen in a year. In 2014, when the new format was introduced, we were miles behind our competitors. It was a long development until we were finally able to challenge them.” Binotto has always dismissed any illegality of the drive as untrue.

New livery, no more pink? Racing Point becomes Aston Martin

Aston Martin, which has been struggling in recent months, has found a breath of fresh air with the arrival of Lawrence Stroll, who bought a little over 16% of the English marque with an initial investment of £182 million.

Aston Martin could have become partly Chinese with the rise in capital of Geely (which already owns Lotus and Volvo), but it is finally the Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll who made it as an investor. 

For the owner of the Formula 1 Racing Point team, the investment amounts to about £182 million for the acquisition of 16.7% of shares in Aston Martin. The deal also includes the injection of £318 million into Aston Martin directly. 

This is an important and welcome investment for the British car maker.

The arrival of the billionaire also has consequences in competition, as the Racing Point team will officially become Aston Martin F1 from the…… READ MORE ON THIS STORY