F1: Michael Schumacher pegged to inspire Ferrari comeback

Scuderia Ferrari Formula One Team is currently suffering one of the biggest slumps in its history as a racing team. Current team Principal Mattia Binotto has stated that he is planning to look at the glory days with legendary driver Michael Schumacher in order to find some inspiration to stage a much needed comeback.

The 2020 Formula One season has seen Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel barely getting out of the first session of qualifying. In every grand prix so far, Vettel has been languishing in the midfield while Leclerc has only managed two podium finishes. For a team like Ferrari, that's a complete disaster.

Binotto started his career at the Italian outfit back in 1995, around the same time that Schumacher entered F1. Binotto witnessed how the partnership between the team and Schumacher resulted in the most memorable and most successful era in the team's history. He joined the team as an engineer at a time when the team was also suffering a multi-season slump. As such, he knows what it's like to rise from the ashes.

According to an interview published on the official F1 website, Binotto has spoken up about drawing inspiration from lessons learned during the Schumacher era. "I was privileged to see the start of the 2000s with Jean Todt, Ross [Brawn], Michael Schumacher and all those drivers, the victories we had. I think it was important for me in my career, because I learned a lot at the time," said Binotto.

Following the celebration of Ferrari's 1000th Grand Prix, Binotto says that having a winning mentality is one of the important lessons he learned from being part of the team. "I learned about mentality, what's the type of mentality you need to win. I think I learned how you need to try and set up a team, and now I need to try to duplicate it. But I think having seen that, it has been a privilege on one side, but it has been very important in my professional career," he said.

With Ferrari well and truly considered to be in a crisis as far as the tifosi are concerned, there have been calls for Binotto's head all season. It remains to be seen if he will indeed be able to draw inspiration from the Schumacher era to save the team and his job.