[MEDIA]
Reoccurring theme in the interview: team harmony. Sounds like Ricci would be the best solution. Hambone is too much of a diva.
When the former WDC winner, with a bad tempre and short memory leaves, Binotto might find harmony. Binotto's restraint of superb talent is also a factor in his lack of harmony,, very much he creates.
I don't think Binotto had any role in Leclerc's recruitment, and certainly non in Vettel's. So he manages them the best he can, until the end of 2020, when maybe he will have a say in the choice of drivers, or at least one driver. That's the way I see it.
My understanding is that LEC was the apple of Marcchione’s eye and was actively involved in his recruitment before he died. I still don’t get the enthusiasm for either RIC or HAM in the Scuderia. Neither would be a good fit with LEC. The team needs a clear number two with high potential for the future. That would be neither of those two.
Well, you want the best players on your team period. It deprives the other teams of a contender, key to making it work is again, being able to establish team harmony and I think RIC's and LEC's personalities would be a good match. Problem with someone like Hambone coming in is the obvious sense of entitlement (no different than Seb, probably worse) where an attempt to usurp the #1 status would create an irreversible rift within the team. LEC's teammate would have to be better than a designated #2, we need someone who can consistently get the top step or 2nd step at every race. You need only look at Mercedes' dominance to recognize that. Otherwise, we'd fall into the Red Bull bucket...only 1 bloke is consistently smashing in those points while the other is pretty adrift...great for the driver's championship, not so wonderful for the constructor's.
I guess you missed the part above about team harmony....unfortunately, the best, period, is often not the way that is achieved. There’s a psychology to building and coaching winning TEAMS that goes beyond assessing just talent. It’s actually a growing trend in HR, called emotional IQ...the idea that someone’s personality and soft skills are often more valuable than their intellectual capacity or knowledge. It’s easy to find people with skills and qualifications. But if they cannot function on a team, they likely won’t work out. Now, if there was no team strategy at all, and it’s just a free for all, may the best man win, etc, I would agree with you. A #2 who can occasionally challenge, or push your #1 to be better, without jeopardizing the team, would be ideal, but that personality is rare. In the above example, if LEC is deemed the #1, I see RIC getting insecure again the way he was when paired with Max. His personality seems better when not threatened, as with Hulk. If Ric is deemed #1,LEC will walk. Simply a matter of 2 big personalities in the room. I predict RIC will finish his career as a big fish in a small pond, similar to Kimis current role.
I think you've completely misread RIC; he doesn't care if he's "designated" as #1 or #2, he just wants the freedom to race when the opportunity is there. When was he ever insecure with Max? He was not OK with being allocated full blame for Max's cheeky, and constant knack to move under braking that cost them both to wipe out at Baku. Then Marko and his politicking for prioritizing Max regardless of situation was probably the last straw...nothing to do w personal insecurity, he's proven himself worthy by merit and to be denounced by Marko like that, which winning driver in their right mind would wanna stay? He and Max still get on great. They openly say they miss racing each other, there is real respect there fueled with positive rivalry in competition, a real true shame that team politics, particularly from up top, broke them up. Now Max is on his own on the podium, Albon's better than Gasly, but still adrift...only 1 driver is taking points off the table. I think RIC would be the best personality fit with LEC and the team can easily rally behind both of them.
I think f1.com has him right where he belongs https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.power-rankings-has-your-favourite-driver-made-our-end-of-year-top-10.7xPV56hrTENAgl3YE6mo4i.html
https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/28229274/what-went-wrong-ferrari-2019 Interesting link/assessment of the team this year. "I think we lost the championship last year when we were designing our car." That was the assessment Mattia Binotto, Ferrari's team principal, when asked where his team's 2019 season had gone wrong after the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It was a year that started with the promise of Maranello's first title in over decade but ended 43 seconds behind the winning Mercedes over a 55-lap race. Along the way its two drivers had fallen out and the team had been accused of cheating -- an accusation still angled at the team when journalists' dictaphones are switched off.
