A new tendency for Scuderia Ferrari is going to be on the book for 2021. Team principal Mattia Binotto will skip the Turkish GP, aiming to spend time at the factory and work closely with the technical department. Laurent Mekies will therefore lead the team trackside, fully replacing Binotto.

Given his proximity to the technical team, the Italian team principal might include staying in Maranello during race weekends in his in-season routine. This automatically implies more responsibilities on sporting director Laurent Mekies’s shoulders, who will become the main reference for Ferrari.

A further reason behind Binotto’s decision to remain behind the scenes in 2021 is the 23-race calendar, which will mean a conspicuous personnel turnover. The effort and resources required for the regulations’ change in place for 2022 need the leading figure to closely monitor and supervise the progress from within.

The team principal has to be the pivotal figure, around which revolve all the operations of a motorsport outfit. Such a dramatic turnaround does not seem common in F1, where charismatic characters as Toto Wolff and Christian Horner fully embody the essentialness of their role. Splitting duties and visibility might sound risky for Scuderia Ferrari, but Binotto's absence to invest in his already-existing involvement in the technical organization of the team could certainly benefit the team and the 2022 project.