Mattia Binotto, now the former head of the Ferrari team, will be on forced leave for at least the first half of the year and we wrote that he has received more than decent compensation for this.
Such holidays in Formula 1 are called “gardening leave”. Literally “garden leave”. But in Binotto’s case, that’s exactly how it should be understood, because besides Formula 1 he loves winemaking and has his own vineyards in Italy.
In the fifth season of the documentary series Drive to Survive, a separate story is devoted to this. The first episode begins with Binotto in a classic, old but beautifully restored Fiat 500 being driven by Günther Steiner, head of Haas F1, to show off his vineyards.
Such a dialogue takes place between them – in Italian, by the way, because Steiner was born in Merano, although his surname is more like a German one, while the Italian Binotto is in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Gunter Steiner: Calm down, Mattia! And this is such a small machine …
Mattia Binotto: Gunther, don’t you trust me?
Gunter Steiner: I’ve had enough of all this. Even the chair under me dangles. But what a wonderful day! How did you come up with the idea of becoming a winemaker?
Mattia Binotto: Part of making your own wine is just a hobby. Wine requires patience, it takes time.
Gunter Steiner: The most important thing is quality, not quantity!
Mattia Binotto: Yes, just like in Formula 1.
Gunter Steiner: Yes, we try to achieve quality there too, but sometimes it doesn’t work. So where are you taking me?
Mattia Binotto: Let’s pick grapes.
Furthermore, the viewer sees how Binotto shows Steiner the winery together with an assistant, but in the end everything is of course concluded with a tasting of the end product. The guest sincerely praises its quality, and we understand that the owner of the winery will not be bored during a fairly long vacation.
He has something to do, although there is no doubt that at the same time he will continue to negotiate his future job. According to rumors, he will take one of the leading positions in the future Audi team.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
