Ferrari WEC hypercar project NOT the result of F1 budget cap

Mattia Binotto has denied that Ferrari's decision to enter the new World Endurance Championship hypercar category is a reaction to the introduction of the Formula 1 budget cap.

Ferrari will make its return to the top category of endurance racing in 2023 where it will compete alongside Peugeot and Toyota in the new Le Mans hypercar class.

On the surface, such a decision would appear to be as a result of F1's budget cap and Ferrari's need to migrate staff into other projects in order to cut costs.

Binotto, however, insists this is not the case. He said: "No, it is not a consequence of the financial regulations at all.

"I think the problem has been evaluated from the company point of view, of interest, and somehow we decided as Ferrari to be involved.

“Will I be in charge? First, I think we should understand that Ferrari is a unit company. It does not matter who is in charge and who they are responsible of, but no, I will not be directly myself in charge."

When the spending restrictions were being discussed last year, Binotto had said the team was seeking a 'soft landing' to best allow the Scuderia "to reallocate people in other jobs within our company."

The comments of Binotto matched those made by former Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri who, in an interview last year, indicated the manufacturer could look at other forms of racing to reallocate its resources.

Camilleri said: "The welfare and wellbeing of our employees, as we have proven through this pandemic, is priority number one, and yes, we are looking at reallocating those resources to other activities.

"One of them, clearly and the most important is shifting those resources to the GT side, which is the road cars, but also potentially, IndyCar is one."

Ferrari has since ruled out joining IndyCar in the short-term.

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