‘Max was impossible to beat’: Mattia Binotto concedes Max Verstappen was ‘unstoppable’ at the Italian GP
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Mattia Binotto
Max Verstappen made it 5 on the bounce after a commanding win in Ferrari’s backyard. Starting from P7 on the grid, the reigning world champion had a ton of work to do in order to win the race. But, after what we saw at Hungaroring and Spa, no one dared to put it past Max Verstappen. The flying Dutchman wasn’t as quick as Spa, but definitely had the pace to challenge for the win.
Starting on the soft tyres, Max had an incredible start. He was able to make up 4 position in just one lap, leaving just George Russell and Charles Leclerc ahead of him. The Monegasque driver decided to pit on lap 13 under the VSC, while Max and George stretched their stint on the soft compound tyres. This, in turn, meant that Charles had to babysit those tyres to the end of the race.
Unfortunately, for Charles and Ferrari, that wasn’t the case to be. He had to come in the pits for the 2nd time as Max was eating away the gap with every passing lap on his fresh mediums. The second pit stop almost confirmed Max’s first ever victory at the ‘Temple of Speed’. Mattia Binotto, talking on the issue, made it clear that it was an impossible task to keep up with the Red Bull at Monza.
Mattia Binotto believes that there was no strategy that would have helped Charles beat Max Verstappen
Ferrari’s Team Principal conceded defeat to Max at Monza. He said, “It’s not difficult, it’s impossible to beat the fastest car. You may only make it wrong with strategy and lose the race if you have a fast car with [a bad] strategy.”
“So I think this day he was fast and whatever the strategy, he would have won. By pitting and moving onto a two-stop with Charles, it still was not the wrong decision because you never know what may happen later in the race.”
“Overall, it was not a risk but a gamble that would have turned into a positive choice.”
Max Verstappen has been driving on another level in the last 4 races. The robotic dominance shown by Max and Red Bull is scary at times. The onus is on Mercedes and Ferrari to spring back with a response or it could get embarrassing.
Also Read: “We will continue to fight for victory,” Ferrari to bring in fresh upgrades to challenge Red Bull
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Shubham Bajpai
(776 Articles Published)