RUMOUR: Binotto to leave Ferrari for Mercedes?

The fight between Ferrari and Mercedes could be set to continue on into the offseason with Ferrari's technical director Mattia Binotto the subject of rumours that suggest he could be on the way to join Mercedes sooner rather than later.

Binotto is responsible for Ferrari's power unit development and their huge resurgence in the fight with Mercedes in recent years, his incredible work with the team resulting in the late Sergio Marchionne planting the seeds that would have seen him replace Maurizio Arrivabene as team boss.

As is often the case at Ferrari, internal politics is always a factor that seems to blindside the Scuderia at the most inopportune of times. After the death of Marchionne, an apparent internal power struggle at the team led to battle lines being drawn, with plans not only for a potential driver line-up change at stake but the management of the team also.

It is believed that not only did Marchionne want Charles Leclerc to replace Kimi Raikkonen at the team against the wishes of Arrivabene, Binotto's promotion to lead the team was also a huge point of conflict within.

The internal battle looks to have settled, with Arrivabene holding on to his position with support from higher up in the Ferrari hierarchy but the conflict hasn't gone unnoticed by other teams in the paddock.

According to reports in Italian media, Mercedes and Renault are extremely interested in securing the services of Binotto in the near future. The signing of Binotto for either team would be a coup, Ferrari's recent gains in power unit development left much of the paddock asking questions about the legality of the system which the FIA assured teams was fully legal.

Mercedes would look to offload James Allison, who himself moved from Ferrari to Mercedes in 2017, with Renault the possible destination for the highly-rated technical director.

Any deal would likely lead to a period of 'gardening' leave for Binotto, to prevent secrets from being leaked to the rival team, secrets that much of the F1 paddock would be very keen in understanding.