Although Ferrari proved to be a unit all year, rumours surfaced during the Brazil GP weekend that Mattia Binotto would have to step down as team boss. In Abu Dhabi, the Italian debunked those rumours once and for all.

Binotto not worried about role for 2023

Binotto therefore reacted with surprise at the FIA press conference in Abu Dhabi, telling GPBlog.com:"I did not expect that question. Ferrari is the most loved team. Seb [Sebastian Vettel] once said that everyone is a Ferrari fan. When there is so much passion, there is also a lot of criticism. When there was this speculation I spoke to the chairman, and together we came up with a statement to debunk the speculation. There is nothing true about the rumours."

So it seems that Binotto will not be removed from his position and will simply return as chief of the Scuderia next year. The Italian seems at ease about it when asked if he can say with certainty that he will still be there in 2023: "I don't go into that, but I am at ease. I talk to my bosses a lot. Looking back at my season, we didn't always have the fastest car on the grid, but we achieved our goal of being competitive again with the 2022 cars. Nobody expected us to be as strong as we were at the start of the season." Binotto believes he has provided enough growth at Ferrari and earned the presidents' trust.

Editor-in-chief Tim Kraaij reported from Abu Dhabi for this article