Ferrari returns home after hitting a fifth and a sixth place at the Brazilian Grand Prix thanks to Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. A rather productive weekend for the Maranello team, which thanks to the simultaneous debacle of McLaren (Norris tenth and Ricciardo retired), has considerably extended against the Woking team in the fight for third place in the Constructors’ World Championship.
At the end of the fourth last round of the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship, Mattia Binotto spoke to the microphones of Sky Sport F1, touching on several interesting topics related to the race, but also to the future of Ferrari and the next season.
Binotto, Ferrari returns home from Sao Paulo with an even greater advantage over McLaren in the Constructors’ World Championship. Are you satisfied?
“Important points for third place in the Constructors’ World Championship. There are 31.5 points between us and McLaren. If I’m not mistaken there has never been so much difference between us and them. However, there are three races to go and two of these are unknowns. so we will have to fight to stay ahead. But we are happy. The positive aspect is this, but also the reliability. I touch everything right now, but in this fight with McLaren, reliability is making the difference. “
Are you satisfied with the car and the work the drivers have done?
“We know that this is our car and we cannot fight with the best. It is a car that was born from last year’s car, born with gaps and defects. Starting from this assumption, it has grown a lot and well. The team at home he is working a lot for 2022. We are also growing on race management. Strategies, pit stops, and the drivers are also very good. Today they did their duty very well, they fought among themselves at the start of the race and made me relive moments already lived 2 years ago (with the Leclerc-Vettel contact in Brazil, ed.) But it went well. I feared, but they didn’t take too many risks. They know what they can do with each other. I hope to see them fight each other again and that they keep the safety margin they know “.
How decisive was the good start of Leclerc and Sainz for the result?
“The start was decisive for the final result. Once we got that, it was about managing the tires, the moments of the pit stops. Then Carlos and Leclerc rode well, with a good pace and this was also a reason for me to satisfaction”.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF21, Carlos Sainz Jr, Ferrari SF21
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
How much are the hybrid innovations introduced in the second half of the season helping you?
“Certainly some progress has been made since the beginning of the season, there is no doubt. Starting with the new power unit that gave us more performance, speed on the straights, race management, defense and running with greater aerodynamic load. From Sochi in then we always had a small advantage over McLaren. “
Do you think Hamilton’s dominant performance in Sao Paulo is the result of the new engine alone?
“I don’t think Hamilton’s performance this weekend comes entirely from the new engine. Mercedes is suffering performance degradation, but it can’t have that much difference. I think there are tracks where some cars fit better, others worse. Red Bull in Mexico it was the strongest car overall, here it was Mercedes. You can also see it from Bottas’ performance, who didn’t change engine. Between the 2 there are 14 points and it will count as much as their cars will adapt to the 3 tracks that are missing, of which 2 are unknowns for all “.
Toto Wolff, before the race, stated that there are uneven cars on the grid. What do you think of these statements?
“I’ve heard Wolff’s words, but I don’t know what it means. I don’t know what he was referring to. He’ll have to be more specific. This weekend was marked by these discussions, nervousness from everyone. The teams know what they are doing and the FIA controls. I don’t know what that honestly meant. “
Is the Ferrari engine, after the latest updates, at the level of Mercedes and Honda or is there still some margin to recover?
“Today’s engine has recovered from its rivals. It is not yet at the level but the difference is narrowing. We are seeing the data on the bench of the 2022 engine and this gives us hope for next year, that we can close the gap from best. We will only know when we are on track against the others. “
Can Leclerc and Sainz fight freely with each other during the race?
“There is always a free race between Carlos and Charles. The priority is the team. If competing with each other still means bringing home the team result, there are no problems. They have to do it with the right attention. I saw that Carlos has tried to close Charles, but he didn’t close that much. He respected our wishes. “
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