F1 News: Insider On Mattia Binotto Alpine Rumours - "Wouldn't Be Surprised"

Ex-Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto could soon be found at Alpine as Team Principal.

Mattia Binotto was dismissed by Ferrari at the end of 2022 and has been without a job ever since. He was however recently spotted on the F1 Paddock at the British Grand Prix. Speaking of exits, the sacking of Alpine's long-serving sporting director Alan Permane and Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer shocked the F1 paddock at the Belgian Grand Prix. 

Alpine announced that both team members would be relieved of their duties after the event at Spa. 

With the rumour wheel doing its thing, the news is being circulated that Binotto could replace Szafnauer and land himself a new job as Team Principal at Alpine. Surprisingly, F1 Legend Martin Brundle has acknowledged hearing the rumour by saying that he wouldn't be surprised if Binotto got the job. He said:

“I’ve heard the same rumour.

"This is a funny old place as you know, you can start a rumour just for fun and see how quickly it comes back to you as fact. But it’s not out of the question.

"Binotto has got a lot of experience, obviously in the Ferrari system, and knows about running a Formula 1 team.

"Obviously, it didn’t work out for him at Ferrari otherwise he’d still be there. But I wouldn’t be surprised if that was announced, no.”

The last eighteen months saw many exits from Alpine. However, Interim Alpine boss Bruno Famin refrained from speaking much on the rumours about Binotto. He said:

“We’re not at that stage.

"I think I'm going to, with all my direct reports, assess what is the situation, think about what are the priorities in Enstone, to consolidate the things and we will define if we need a new structure or not and when that will be done, we will see.

"I will take the necessary time to do this assessment and we will decide later on.” 

Famin has hinted at a "new structure" which means that we could see some sacking and hiring happening in the not so far future.