ROME – Ferrari on Tuesday dismissed as “totally without foundation” media reports that team principal Mattia Binotto was to be sacked.

Italian newspapers Corriere della Sera and Gazzetta dello Sport claimed Binotto had paid the price for a series of strategic errors that saw the wheels come off the team’s world championship challenge.

The publications suggested Alfa Romeo’s French team principal Frederic Vasseur was lined up to replace Binotto from Jan 1.

But Ferrari rejected the report outright in a post on social media.

“In relation to speculation in certain media regarding Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto’s position, Ferrari states that these rumours are totally without foundation,” the team said.

Binotto has come under fire after a season in which the Italian Formula One giants’ quest to end a title famine began encouragingly, only to falter in the second half of the year. Numerous pit-lane missteps damaged Charles Leclerc’s attempt to keep tabs with runaway world champion Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.

The man from Monaco goes into this weekend’s closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in a tussle for second place with Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez, with the pair level on points.

Gazzetta dello Sport suggested that, since his arrival in 2019, Binotto has failed to ensure that Ferrari’s fight for the title “goes down to the last race” and that “2022 was no exception”.

“After a great start, there’s been a lack of competitiveness in the second half of the season and Red Bull have won the drivers’ and constructors’ titles by a wide margin,” it said.

The report also said that Vasseur was considered by Ferrari last summer as he has vast racing experience, having made his way up to Formula One from managing teams in junior formulas.

Kimi Raikkonen delivered Ferrari’s last drivers’ crown in 2007, with the team winning their last constructors’ championship the following year. AFP, REUTERS