Mattia Binotto was finally shown the exit door by Ferrari following a string of poor strategical calls over the 2022 season.
Ferrari finally seemed to have a car that could challenge for the championship, but Binotto made a number of questionable decisions throughout the season which derailed Charles Leclerc’s early momentum.
Now, another former Ferrari star has lashed out against Binotto, claiming that he will ‘never forgive’ him.
While Ferrari ended the season in second place in the constructors’ standings, there was a growing belief that things could have been a lot better for them had it not have been for Binotto.
While Binotto was eventually sacked in November, Arnoux believes this decision should have been made a long time ago.
He criticised Binotto for derailing Ferrari since taking charge.
What did Arnoux say?
Arnoux famously raced for Ferrari during the 1980s and has a strong bond with the team.
“I didn’t like seeing Ferrari start very competitively before they dropped out,” he said.
“It is true that reliability was not good, but some Grands Prix we almost seemed to lose on purpose.
“The mistakes he (Binotto) has made in Formula 1 are unforgivable for me. I have never been on his side. Someone who says ‘next year will be better’ doesn’t deserve that place. I would have fired him years ago.
“Behaviour like his is intolerable when you’re leading the best team in the world. You may or may not like [former Ferrari chief] Jean Todt, but he would never have said ‘next year will be better’.
“He won and when he won he thought about the following year. But there are few people like Todt and [Ron] Dennis.”
Arnoux believes a big reason behind the problems for both Binotto and Ferrari started when they merged the role of team boss and technical director into one.
“Merging those two roles was a mistake. In hyper-specialised Formula 1, you cannot do everything (yourself).”
Frederic Vasseur will be heading Ferrari in the upcoming season following the exit of Binotto.