Everything happened in Suzuka. Accidents, tire management problems, penalties at the end of the race. For Ferrari, the Japanese Grand Prix was a concentration of situations that will have to lead to sporting but also political analyzes.
Mattia Binotto, reached by Sky Sport by phone, immediately congratulated Max Verstappen for the title he deservedly won at Suzuka.
“I start by congratulating Max for the title. Bravo for today’s victory, for the championship. He has always driven in an excellent way, so still good and he deserves a lot of credit.”
Once the necessary compliments were made to the Red Bull Racing driver, Binotto began to analyze what happened at Suzuka with Leclerc who was forced to cut the chicane on the last lap, receiving a penalty for that maneuver. The Ferrari team principal started right from the last act of the race and from the 5 “that relegated Charles to third place and, consequently, handed the second career driver’s crown to Verstappen.
“On the FIA and today’s penalty I frankly have little desire to comment. I think it is now a ridiculous and unacceptable thing. Last race they took an infinite number of laps to decide something that by the way makes little sense. Today, instead , in a few seconds they made a decision that makes little sense to us. “
“Charles did not gain any advantage by cutting that chicane. He was a few tenths ahead and remained a few tenths ahead. So when we saw the note for ‘unfair advantage’ we were confident that nothing would happen. But a few seconds later they even decided. without hearing the drivers giving a 5 second penalty. Like starting today, without letting them start behind the Safety Car because the conditions were critical, then a tractor on the track. The FIA is showing that the situation is not easy and that we must absolutely make things better “.
“We will talk about it in the appropriate forums as I said before, but it is unacceptable. It is unacceptable to see how certain decisions have been made. We have not had any advantages since Charles’ exit and the marshals have not even heard the pilots. Two identical infractions, considering that of the last time, but two different ways of judging. Last time Perez that poor man can’t follow a Safety Car … We have to take note, but also understand how to improve this situation, because that’s not good. “
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, battles Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18, for leadership at the start
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
On the complex Sunday for Ferrari, there was also the immediate retirement of Carlos Sainz Jr. who arrived during the first lap at Turn 12 when the Spaniard lost control of his Ferrari, ending up on the wall.
“I talked to Carlos. There was little time. He was surprised at the level of grip that wasn’t there and he lost the car without warning. The conditions were difficult. He also bounced around the track with so many riders arriving. without slowing down and seeing. Perhaps the best thing was to start behind the Safety Car and assess the situation and then decide what to do. “
Not just political decisions: Ferrari will have to continue working, especially for next season, taking a cue from the difficulties encountered even today. Leclerc’s F1-75 literally destroyed his tires in a few laps, in a vain attempt to recover the almost 5 “that separated him from Verstappen. went from being the best in tire management to suffering it against Red Bull.
“The most accredited hypothesis is that Charles pushed too hard at the beginning. The front ones were destroyed. There was graining and with the track conditions it was not possible to clean. From then on he himself said that he could not The laps he did to try to catch up on Max probably compromised the rest of the race. It is something to learn, because on Friday we had already seen this situation. Maybe we would have to do some mea culpa “.
“As a dry lap and as a step in the wet the car went well. The car is proving to be still competitive. You can play pole and races too. Then today Max was better, he managed the tires and overall they are They were better. But we understood Spa’s problems and tried to channel them. There are still 4 races left and we will try to bring home the result that has been missing for too many races “, concluded Binotto.
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