Ferrari replaces Arifabini with Pinozzo

Ferrari has decided not to renew Arifabini's contract after a disappointing new season at the Formula 1 World Championship, where Mercedes continued to dominate the title for the fifth time in a row, and his Briton Lewis Hamilton with his fifth and fourth titles since 2014.

Ferrari president John Elkan, who replaced Sergio Marconi, who died last year, said Pinoto, 49, was the right man to lead the Italian team in 2019.

"After four years of dedication, Maurizio Arifabini will leave the team," Ferrari said in a statement.

"The decision was made with the head of the first team of Scuderia Ferrari and all the technical departments will continue to report directly to Matija."

Aribabini, 61, former marketing director of tobacco giant Philip Morris, succeeded Marco Matatechi in 2014, but failed to get Scuderia to end Mercedes' monopoly.

Born in Switzerland, Benoto began his career at Ferrari since 1995, where he held the position of test engineer, then became the chief engineer of the team before taking over as technical director in 2016.

The pinot will not be the only change in the team next season. Charles Leclerc (Monaco) takes the lead alongside former world champion Sebastian Vettel at the expense of Kimi Raikkonen, who was the last to lead Ferrari in the title in 2007.