Red Bull also in Jeddah showed a top speed significantly higher than Ferrari, but in the end the difference in lap time was minimal, so much so that Charles Leclerc conquered the additional lap with the F1-75. The two top single-seaters have close performances, so there is no need to talk about a Honda super-engine, igniting the controversy that hit Ferrari in 2019?
Mattia Binotto, Team Principal, Ferrari
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Mattia Binotto immediately puts out the controversy in the bud …
“Honestly I think they are different situations, because I think there are different choices in the Red Bull wing configurations, so it seems clear to me that it was an aerodynamic issue. Then it’s true, they have a very high speed and maybe we are also looking to see if they have any aero-elasticity in their wings, but these are the usual analyzes we do “.
Did the F1-75 look like a single-seater capable of respecting 18-inch tires?
“Our strategy involved a stop, going from medium to hard tires: we planned to stop on lap 14 and we got more or less there (lap 16): the tires behaved more or less as we expected. It is true that the hard ones have had very little degradation, while we expected a little more, hoping to have a small advantage over Red Bull which then did not, but now we have consistent and predictable tires. They are definitely better than last year and their management is more immediate “.
After two races, did you respect the forecasts or did you go further?
“I can say in summary that we have collected 78 points out of 88 available, we have scored more points than Red Bull and Mercedes combined! I think we did well proving that we are always competitive ”.
“The credit goes to a team that in three long weeks (we left for testing in Bahrain, then we stayed in Sakhir for the race and then moved to Jeddah) did a very solid job: the car worked. , but also the pit stops, the mechanics: in short, the strategies and engineering were of a high level. So I am very satisfied, because we have collected so much beyond all expectations ”.
In short, Ferrari started even better than expected, even if in the faces of the people of Maranello there was the evident disappointment of a second victory that escaped only for some details that made the difference …
Paul Monaghan, chief engineer, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st place, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2nd place, Carlos Sainz Jr.
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
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