That Ferrari should have run the Canadian Grand Prix in defense, at least with Charles Leclerc, was known since Friday, but at the end of the race there was a bit of a bitterness in the mouth after seeing Carlos Sainz arrive in the wake of Max Verstappen. .
The Spaniard, also thanks to the intervention at the end of the safety car which allowed him to make the second stop and mount fresh hard tires without wasting time from the world champion, in the final he tried in every way to mislead the Dutchman of the Red Bull without, however, succeeding in the intent.
Sainz thus had to settle for the second step of the podium, while Leclerc, who started from the back of the grid after having mounted the power unit number 4, managed to climb up to fifth place, limiting the damage.
At the end of a race that saw Red Bull win for the sixth consecutive time, Mattia Binotto spoke to the microphones of Sky Sport F1 HD underlining the positive aspects of the Canadian trip and throwing a dig at Red Bull for the reliability problems that today they hit Sergio Perez’s car.
“This weekend was the one in which we were most in defense because we were starting from the back and we had to minimize the difference in points. We actually gained a few points in the Constructors to prove that reliability is a problem for everyone. It is never taken for granted, it is difficult to manage. We know we have problems but we need to stay focused and solve them as soon as possible ”.
The Ferrari team principal then explained the type of race that Charles Leclerc had to face. Binotto defined it as a race of patience, who then also justified the call to the pits of the Monegasque by pointing his finger at the inaccuracies committed by the mechanics.
“We knew this was going to be a patience contest for Charles. There was the frustration of those who are forced to start from the bottom and at certain times he would like to be able to overtake but he doesn’t always succeed because of the DRS train or tire decay. It was a contest of patience. He finished fifth and I think all in all it is a good result ”.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari F1-75
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“We were a bit unlucky with Carlos in the VSC, but the safety car cleared the situation. With Charles I don’t think we would have had to wait for the stop because at that moment Stroll was picking up his pace and we wanted to have the margin to stay ahead. Unfortunately, the stop was not good. With a normal pit we would have been in front of that train of cars and he would not have damaged his tires at that stage and would have had them cooler to attack in the end. We have to review the pit stops because now in a systematic way there is something that is not perfect on that front ”.
Binotto then analyzed Carlos Sainz’s race. According to the Scuderia team principal, the Spaniard is improving his knowledge of F1-75, but today, perhaps, he paid off the result obtained on Saturday in qualfiica.
“Carlos is gaining confidence, he knows this car better and better and is driving better than at the start of the season. His race pace was very good and we knew that if he had passed Alonso immediately he could have fought. It’s a shame because maybe we had a little more today, but that tenth or two isn’t enough to get over. Maybe he paid for yesterday’s qualifying and this shows once again that to win you need perfect weekends ”.
“In the race he was good, he kept the pace and attacked Max immediately after the restart. Then he didn’t push, he was attacked and waited for the last two laps. Unfortunately he made a small mistake at the hairpin that deprived him of the last useful idea, but he was very close. The day of his victory will soon arrive ”.
Before leaving, Binotto explained how he expects Red Bull to step forward in view of the next race at Silverstone.
“I expect Red Bull to bring a big development to Silverstone, at least I imagine it, and we should understand what it will be compared to what we will do, but we will judge it on the track.”
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