“We lost a bit of ground,” Mattia Binotto says Ferrari ‘much better prepared’ to win the Championship in 2022
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Mattia Binotto
Ferrari continued their good run of form in 2022 after both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished P2 and P3 in the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Italian racing team lead the constructor’s championship with 78 points, 40 clear of their Mercedes at 2nd, ahead of the Australian GP.
Both the drivers have finished on the podium of the first two races, with Leclerc claiming victory in the season opener in Bahrain. The Monagesque also claimed the fastest laps in the two races and leads the driver’s standings as well.
Team Principal Mattia Binotto says the team focused on the new age cars ahead of the regulation changes and credits this to the team’s rise. The team lost ground during 2020-21 but the Italian believes the Scuderia are currently “more in line” for a proper title challenge
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Ferrari is on a quest to win their first championship since 2008.
Ferrari’s strongest days post the 2010’s era were under Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikonnen as the team challenged Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes for the championship. The team finished 2nd but slumped in form and development during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The Scuderia now seem at their strongest ever since 2008 and Mattia Binotto explains why.
Binotto said, “Keeping up the level on a long season is a challenge, not just for us but all the teams. It’s true that our competitors have very strong development; in 2017 and ‘18 we lost a bit of ground. But since then, in car design, we have improved our [wind] tunnel, technologies, processes and simulations and so today we are much better prepared than in the past to do a good job with development.”
He said, “Last year we had a disadvantage and we tried to catch up and now we are more in line. In the first two races, so far it seems the difference is very little – and we are reaching a convergence. Where [the engine] was a disadvantage for us last year, it isn’t anymore.”
Ferrari and their customer teams Alfa Romeo and Haas also seem to have much more competitive with the new power unit. The team look to extend their lead when racing resumes in Melbourne for the Australian Gp on April 8-10.
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Tejas Venkatesh
(366 Articles Published)