As the COO and CTO of Sauber Motorsport today, Binotto is tasked with building the future Audi team into a champion team in the Formula 1 paddock over a period of six to seven years.
However, judging from Binotto's past performances as Ferrari principal, the Audi team still needs to draw a huge question mark if he wants to become a team with championship strength in his hands. Although not favored by the outside world, Binotto himself is full of confidence in the future, and in an exclusive interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera, Binotto talked about his confidence in the Audi team and the prospects of this team. In addition to this, Binotto also commented on the current state and future of several teams in the interview, including mentioning his former club Ferrari.
In particular, Binotto, when it comes to his former club Ferrari, has been even more blunt in saying that he will not sign Hamilton if he is still in charge of Scuderia Ferrari. The former Ferrari boss couldn't afford to win the seven-time title, and Binotto's remarks caused a lot of controversy.
The reason why Binotto said this is actually because Ferrari regarded Leclerc as the number one driver two seasons ago, and Ferrari has already bet on Leclerc, if Leclerc can compete for the world championship for Ferrari, then Hamilton's role is to assist the number one driverTherefore, in the new season, Hamilton joined the Ferrari team, whether he can adapt to the identity of the No. 2 driver and be willing to be a wingman for his younger brother Leclerc can be said to be full of unknowns.
After all, for seven-time champion Hamilton, since he decided to part ways with Mercedes and join Ferrari, he hopes to have the opportunity to continue to challenge for the Drivers' World Championship and become the first driver in F1 history to win the Drivers' World Championship. What's more, with Red Bull Racing now less competitive, Dominance no longer exists, which makes Hamilton see the possibility of achieving the feat of eight Crowns in the new season.
As the number one driver of the Scuderia Ferrari today, when seeing Verstappen's success and Norris have risen strongly, Leclerc's heart must now be holding back a lot of energy, and he is even more eager to prove his ability on the track. Once Scuderia Ferrari is in contention for the title in 2025, there is a good chance that two red Prancing Horses will be seen battling each other on the track.
Although Binotto did not endorse Hamilton to join the Scuderia Ferrari, for the Red Prancing Horse, the 2025 season has an experienced champion like Hamilton, and as long as the team has the car in place in the off-season to ensure that the car is competitive, Ferrari's results for the new season will be guaranteed. After all, compared to Leclerc, Hamilton's stability on the track and his old racing experience are still much better.
Moreover, having a big brother like Hamilton by Leclerc's side will certainly help the Monegasque driver grow rapidly to a certain extent.
As Leclerc himself said, when a champion like Lewis joins any team, it inspires everyone, and he will bring all the experience he has accumulated over the years at Mercedes, which is always beneficial for the team. And to learn from one of the best drivers of all time, it's a challenge and a motivation to go and beat Lewis and show what you're capable of.