The one seen at the end of a Saudi Arabian Grand Prix won by Max Verstappen after an intense fight in the final with Charles Leclerc is a satisfied Mattia Binotto.
The Ferrari team principal, who spoke to Sky Sport F1 HD, analyzed a race in which, once again, the F1-75 expressed itself at very high levels, confirming all the goodness of the project already seen in Bahrain, but also expressed a hint of dissatisfaction with a success that was only faded at the end due to circumstances beyond the control of the Scuderia.
“Today’s race was decided by a few episodes. Personally I am sorry for the obvious unsafe release that occurred with Sainz in the pits when Max came out of the lay-by. If Carlos hadn’t slowed down, he would have hit him. Another episode occurred at the restart after the safety car when Sainz was not immediately returned to the third position. When he was given the green flag, if he had been in third place, he could have attacked Verstappen right away. These are all episodes that in the end can affect the race “.
“Having said that it was once again a spectacular race. They all drove well. I’m sorry not to have won, but if I look at the glass half full I must underline how we managed to get 78 points out of the 88 available in two races ”.
“The weekend was positive. Yesterday we were close to pole, today we got the fastest lap in the race as well as finishing in second and third position. Of course, losing the win in the final always burns, but Red Bull is a lot of stuff. It goes very fast ”.
The Ferrari team principal then returned to the unsafe release topic explaining how the team protested with the race management without obtaining feedback.
“We indicated to the race management that Sainz had to slow down to avoid a collision, which can also be seen from the telemetry, but they have not decided to investigate further. I’m sorry because the facts were clear ”.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, Carlos Sainz Jr.
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Binotto then wished to praise the conduct of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz jr. emphasizing how we both achieved the best possible result.
“They drove very well, with clarity. For us the main objective was to finish the race and try to get the most points. I think we have succeeded ”.
Before leaving, Binotto then explained how it is necessary to wait until Imola to be able to have a complete view of the real values in the field.
“We are pleased to be able to fight for the podium at the start of the season. For the moment we are there, but I think it will take at least 4/5 matches to have a vision of the values on the field and then evaluate the developments that will be brought. Now we will go to Melbourne, a completely different track from the first two on the calendar, and then to Imola, a track with slow corners where we will try to make the most of our car ”.
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