Feb.7 (GMM) There is “no place” for Mattia Binotto at Red Bull, team boss Christian Horner insists.
When Binotto was ousted by Ferrari late last year for the Italian team’s 2022 errors, Horner admits being approached to potentially be the new boss was “flattering”.
Horner says he is happy running Red Bull, but he doesn’t “underestimate” either the Maranello based outfit or Mercedes despite Red Bull’s 2021 and 2022 successes.
And although he says Binotto did a good job as Ferrari boss, Horner is not interested in snapping him up for Red Bull.
“No, there’s no place for him,” Horner is quoted by Eurosport Italy. “I don’t know what role he could play at our team.
“He will probably have better opportunities in teams lower down the grid.”
Mercedes’ Toto Wolff has also played down the likelihood of signing up Binotto.
Horner, meanwhile, admits Red Bull has opted for evolution of its 2022 car rather than revolution for the new season due to the “very stable” regulations.
“There are a few aerodynamic changes,” he said, “but the RB19 will hopefully inherit all the strengths of our most successful car to date, the RB18.”
World champion Max Verstappen agrees that it would be “stupid” of the team to “try something completely different” in 2023.
That is especially true given Red Bull’s extra wind tunnel restrictions as part of the penalty for the minor budget cap overspend.
“We are doing the best with what we have,” said Horner. “The team had to adapt to the handicap and they have done a fantastic job.
“Will it be enough? We’ll start to find out in a couple of weeks but we have accepted the situation and tried to adapt to ensure we’re as efficient as possible.
“But if we get 50 percent of the race wins and points that we got last year, that could well be enough to still win the championship.”