Ferrari is on a similar path now with Charles Leclerc to what it was with Michael Schumacher before dominating Formula 1, Mattia Binotto claims.
After several better years on the coattails of Mercedes, 2020 has seen the Scuderia slip back into the midfield, due to an underpowered engine and an underwhelming chassis.
As a result, Ferrari is on course to finish sixth in the Constructors’ Championship, their worst placing since 1980.
But Binotto is confident the future remains bright, drawing comparisons between now with Leclerc and the period in the late 1990s after the arrival of Schumacher.
“I often compare it. I think there are similarities, no doubt,” he told the Beyond the Grid F1 podcast.
“The first is that Ferrari at the time, 1995 to 2000, was investing. We were investing as we are investing today, investing in technologies but investing on people as well, so employing young people and young engineers.
“If I look at Ferrari in the last years, we have employed a lot of young engineers which today are starting to become our foundations.
“There was also a leader as a driver, Michael at the time. I think today we’ve got Charles. He’s not as experienced as Michael because he’s not a World Champion, while Michael was.
“But I think we’ve got a clear leader on-track as a driver. I think that’s important as well. I think there is the commitment of the entire company to try to build a winning cycle in the future.”
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Many saw the decision by Binotto to replace Sebastian Vettel with Carlos Sainz for 2021 as a clear example of Ferrari putting their eggs into the Leclerc basket.
However, as the Swiss chief alluded to and then elaborated on, there is a key difference between Leclerc and Schumacher.
“Both are very talented drivers,” he said. “Charles is fast, capable of overtaking and fantastic at protecting the position.
“I think he has the mentality that winning is a clear objective for him. Second place is never satisfactory for him, as it wasn’t for Michael.
“But Charles is a lot younger to Michael at the time. He needs to develop as a leader of a team. The success of Ferrari tomorrow will be somehow dependent on the way he will behave as a leader himself.
“But I think that while Michael was already a leader, Charles is developing as a leader and developing well.”