Vasseur linked with Binotto’s Ferrari job

There is "a lot of talk" about Mattia Binotto’s future at Ferrari.

That is the view of the highly authoritative Italian media source Leo Turrini, who told Formula Passion that Ferrari president John Elkann will be alarmed that Mercedes sped ahead of the Maranello team in Brazil.

According to team boss Binotto, Ferrari simply ran out of money in the 2022 budget cap to keep developing at Mercedes’ speed.

"It is certainly not a choice we made voluntarily," he told Auto Motor und Sport. "At a certain point the money simply ran out.

"We just can’t afford the extra cost of producing parts anymore. That’s why I’m quite surprised that other teams can still bring updates," Binotto added.

According to Turrini, there are two main candidates to potentially replace Binotto - Sauber boss Frederic Vasseur, and Antonella Coletta, who is currently head of Ferrari’s GT program.

Turrini said Frenchman Vasseur, who runs Swiss-based Sauber with Alfa Romeo branding at present, is the favourite.

Alfa Romeo will drop the branding deal after next year, with Sauber set to be 75 percent acquired by Audi.

"He (Vasseur) is also a good friend of Charles Leclerc’s manager Nicolas Todt," said Turrini.

"Binotto should only continue if he has the full confidence of senior management."