Mattia Binotto unconcerned with the gap to Red Bull: “We are looking forward to Hungary,”
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Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto
Ferrari had a failed weekend of catastrophic proportions in France. Charles Leclerc had led lead the whole race, was under no pressure from behind and was only a third of the way into the race, but he lost the rear of the car and went into the barriers, marking the end of his race. Charles Leclerc’s “NOOOOOOOOOO!” scream of anguish will be one troubling Ferrari and their fans for some time.
Later on, both Charles Leclerc and Mattia Binotto clarified that the incident was Leclerc’s own mistake and that there were no issues with the car, or with the throttle, as Leclerc’s “I cannot find throttle!” comment had led some to believe it was a continuation of his issues from Austria. However, the car’s massive rear-end instability would not have helped Leclerc, even if he prefers an over-steer car.
Both Leclerc and Ferrari will be rueing the mistake. Ferrari are now 82 points behind Red Bull in the championship standings, while Leclerc himself is 63 points behind Max Verstappen in the standings. Carlos Sainz, who started from the back after taking penalties, had a strategy that left Nico Rosberg lost for words. Suffice to say, not everything is going smoothly.
Mattia Binotto remains optimistic
Ferrari only scored 11 points in France, compared to Red Bull’s 37 and Mercedes’ 33. In fact, Mercedes are now only 44 points behind Ferrari, while Ferrari are almost double that total of points behind Red Bull. The championship hopes are looking dim for the Prancing Horses.
However, Mattia Binotto is unaffected by the result and said that he’s not concerned by the gap they currently have from the top. As posted on the official Formula 1 website, he said: “If you would have asked me before this race what was the gap to Red Bull or Max, I couldn’t answer to you because I’m not looking.”
He added: “What we are focused on is trying to go at every single race and get the maximum results from it. And it didn’t happen here in Paul Ricard. There is always something to improve and learn, and that’s our approach. It’s step by step; we are progressing and becoming better.”
Binotto and Ferrari are now looking forward to Hungary, a track which is expected to suit the characteristics of the F1-75: “Once again today we have proved to our drivers, we have a fast car and a competitive one. I think we are simply looking to Hungary, we need to turn the page and look to Hungary and do a one-two there, so we simply focus on the next result.”
He stated that they leave Le Castellet with full confidence in the car package, pace and on their drivers, adding that Hungary will be similar in terms of tyre management, overheating and degradation to Le Castellet, owing to the hot temperatures. As such, there are reasons for the team to be optimistic about Hungary. Ferrari need a flawless weekend at the Hungaroring. If even one thing goes wrong, they risk falling into Mercedes’ clutches after the summer break.
Also Read: “Max is very fast on the long runs”: Ferrari’s Mattia Binotto stays wary of Red Bull
Also Read: “It’s not the situation right now” : Mattia Binotto asserts Ferrari won’t pick a number one driver
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)