Ferrari chief Mattia Binotto has revealed he had to practise his phone call to tell Sebastian Vettel he was being sacked three times. Vettel was confirmed as an Aston Martin driver for the 2021 season. The German's contract with the Italian team running out at the end of the current season. The 33-year-old has endured a disappointing campaign with Ferrari, collecting just 18 points from 12 races, and will be replaced by Spanish driver Carlos Sainz next year. "I was at home, and before I called him I repeated mentally three times beforehand what I should tell him and how," Binotto said. "The choice about Seb was not easy, because we love him for what he has been, for the way he has behaved and for what he has given to the team over the years. "But there comes a time when you have to have the clarity to make choices looking to the future. We are close to the start of a new technical cycle in 2022, and there is a team that is being built up in all areas. "We have the duty and ambition to look to the medium and long term, and it is precisely on this rationale that the strength to make certain choices must be found. "Did Seb get in the way? No, he did not hang up the phone. He is a very intelligent person, a beautiful person, and he has maintained his character during a season in which there has been no lack of difficulties. He was never negative. Instead, he was proactive and a very respectable person."
Source: Daily Mail