Ferrari has not been able to compete with Red Bull. Despite that brilliant start to the season, it has been deflating as the races have passed. max verstappen He has swept away and has shown that he is the fittest driver on the entire Formula 1 grid. Mattia Binotto has taken stock.
In statements to ‘AS’, he has spoken about the progression of Carlos Sainz in the season: “He suffered at the beginning, he had to adapt to the new 2022 car, to how it had to be driven. learned, improved and in the second part of the year he has been very good, he has shown that he has a good rhythm, that he is a strong competitor”.
“He has several retirements, they are races that he did not finish and that are important for the balance of the season, we have to review it for next year because it is the worst thing that can happen to a driver, not scoring points in a race,” he said. commented the head of the Ferrari team.
And he affirms that for the coming course he can count on him: “In general he has improved, has become very competitive in terms of pace and speed and I know I can count on him for next year as well.”
Regarding the criticism that Ferrari has received, he assures that it is not an easy situation: “The criticism they are never easy to manage. It was important to me to keep the team focused on their work. Criticism is made to distract the team. But they will make me stronger in the future. We only have to think about ourselves, those are the most important lessons.”
“We have been very competitive in qualifying but our race pace was not enough to win. If you have a fast and reliable car, you can make mistakes in strategies and ‘pit-stop’ but then you compensate with the car. That’s where we must put our efforts knowing the ups and downs that strategies can cause”, he has sentenced.
Ferrari was second in the drivers’ championship (with charles leclerc) as in the constructors’ world championship. A first stone of the project to win again in Formula 1. Something that they have not achieved since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.