Former F1 tech boss says Ferrari has made 'the wrong decision'

Former Jordan Grand Prix technical director Gary Anderson believes Ferrari's decision to name Mattia Binotto as the Scuderia's team principal is "wrong".

Binotto is viewed as a key figure in the Italian outfit's technical structure, having risen through the Scuderia's ranks by starting his life in Maranello as an engine engineer before leading the team's power unit department in 2015.

The Swiss was then promoted to the role of technical director in 2016 by Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne. Binotto's work put the Scuderia in a position to challenge Mercedes in 2017 and 2018, but team and driver mistakes and mishaps in the later part of both seasons kept the title away.

Last year, dissension set in between Binotto and team boss Maurizio Arrivabene, with the latter not surviving the end of the year.

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According to Anderson, Binotto's promotion is a case of casting against type.

"Binotto is someone who has been very good at being a technical manager. You've got to allow him to be a technical manager," said Anderson, speaking at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham on Friday.

"That is a full-time job, seven days a week. It's not a part-time thing. That is going to dilute their technical effort for sure.

"I think it's the wrong decision. They should have brought someone else in.

"I don't really see why you would take your best technical person…and put him in a management, political position which is not his forte. Why would you do that?"

Criticism leveled at Arrivabene during his tenure at the helm of the Scuderia often centered around his propensity to create a culture of blame within the red squad.

"You shouldn't have a blame culture, but somebody's responsible and you have to make sure you recognise why it failed and strengthen it," added Anderson who said that gains in management efficiency won't matter of Ferrari's performance is reduced.

The British engineer also feared that any relative under-performance in the future could put Binotto at risk.

"What happens at the end of 2019 if Red Bull steps between them and suddenly Ferrari are third or fourth in the championship? It could happen. [Then] his head's gonna roll," said Anderson.

"They might lose a very good asset because they put him in a position he shouldn't be in."

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