In the last two races, Scuderia Ferrari implemented an important power unit upgrade for drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc and the Maranello team was able to show a good pace at the Circuit of the Americas, finished with both cars in the top seven on a track that on paper was not ideal for the SF21 car. According to Team Principal Mattia Binotto, this shows that the Italian side’s new powerplant is paying dividends.
Scuderia Ferrari produced a midfield-topping display on Sunday at COTA, with a P4 for Charles Leclerc, who finished almost 30 seconds ahead of McLaren’s fifth-place Daniel Ricciardo – and a seventh place for Carlos Sainz. However, the Spanish driver could have easily finished in P5 if it wasn’t for a slow second pit stop that prevented him from overtaking Daniel Ricciardo and left him vulnarable to Valtteri Bottas in the final stages of the United States Grand Prix. Regardless, Mattia Binotto feels the events at COTA prove Ferrari is on the right path and the result is seen as a huge positive for the engine department.
“If you look generally-speaking this season McLaren has been always very competitive in medium, high speed corners and again it is the case here in Austin. But I think if I look at the overall performance this weekend we have been ahead of them,” Mattia Binotto explained at the end of the race in Austin – “This was [evident] in quali and Charles… finished 35 seconds ahead of Ricciardo. Generally speaking in the overall balance of the lap we have been clearly fastest this weekend. That’s is why I think it’s a shame with Carlos not having been ahead of the end of the race with Charles.”
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When asked to quantify the difference Ferrari’s power unit made in the United States Grand Prix, Mattia Binotto added: “The power is always available with the straight line so you get the benefit at the start of the straight line and as well at the end. I think the way we can quantify, if we look at this weekend, we are running max downforce but we are somehow matching the speed of others – or almost matching the speed of the others. If you consider last year, it’s a really big step forwards. We still know there is a gap to the best engine today, but we believe that that gap is not so dramatic… ” – he added.
Next up is Mexico, which is yet another track that requires high-downforce and a strong, reliable power unit at high altitude. The Ferrari boss confirmed that the United States Grand Prix field test of the Maranello engine bode well for Mexico City – especially as they sit just 3.5 points behind McLaren with five races remaining.
“On paper it [COTA] was not a circuit that was suiting obviously our car so that’s why I am pleased with progress we have seen in the last races, certainly helped by the power unit in the quali and the race and that gives me confidence as well for the next races,” he concluded.
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