Toto Wolff rules out the idea of Mattia Binotto at Mercedes, for now. The boss of Mercedes AMG Formula 1 says that too much damage between them in competition for them to work together in a team environment.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff believes Mattia Binotto could very well return to Formula One with a grid team, but the Austrian has completely shut the door on the Swiss-Italian man at Mercedes.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has completely ruled out the idea of Mattia Binotto joining the German manufacturer’s team once Binotto leaves Ferrari for good.

Last week Scuderia Ferrari said it had accepted the resignation of team boss Mattia Binotto, who will leave Maranello at the end of December after four years in charge of sports management. The name of Mattia Binotto’s replacement will not be known until early 2023 although it is expected that Sauber’s Frederic Vasseur is in the top spot to replace him.

“Binotto under huge pressure”

Asked about Binotto’s departure, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff admits he has been impressed by how long the now exiting boss has managed to stay at Ferrari despite the enormous pressure placed on his shoulders throughout the four years.

“It was always clear that he was under enormous pressure. As a team boss at Ferrari, it’s better for you to have a good contract for your departure. Now the inevitable has happened. But he stayed on much longer than I thought he would,” Wolff told the Beyond the Grid podcast.

For the past few days, rumours have suggested that Binotto would be joining Mercedes in a managerial role within the organisation, but Toto Wolff denied this:

“No, I think there has been too much broken china between the two of us in the past two years for that to be possible.”

“With the other teams, I can’t say. But one thing is certain, Mattia understands Formula 1 inside out, and yes, maybe he will find a role in another team.”

Mattia Binotto’s return to another team on the grid in the near future seems unlikely to us, however, as the Scuderia Ferrari director will not leave his post until the end of December and will then have to observe a period of gardening leave, the period during which an employee leaving his F1 job cannot go to work for the competition immediately for obvious reasons of professional secrecy.

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