Scuderia Ferrari are approaching the 2022 Formula One season cautiously, as Team Principal Mattia Binotto urges the team to keep their heads down and focus only on themselves as the first Formula 1 Grand Prix will take place in just a few days at the Bahrain International Circuit, which last week also hosted the final pre-season testing session.
Ferrari enjoyed a productive pre-season testing period, both in terms of speed and reliability and many have highlighted the Maranello team’s strong form in Bahrain, but Mattia Binotto knows very well that his team remain the outsiders in the title fight for the 2022 Formula 1 championship, despite suggestions from Mercedes and Red Bull that the Italian outfit are leading the way in this start of the new F1 campaign.
Mattia Binotto said: “In terms of performance, it has been very difficult to judge. I still believe that both Red Bull and Mercedes are the main [competitors]. I think they’re the ones that won last year. They both [have] World Champion drivers, they have proven to be very strong teams in the past. They had a second advantage at the end of last year. I think there is no reason why they’re not the favourites today. So for me, [they are] the favourites.” – he explained.
“For us, we’ve been focusing on ourselves. It has been six positive days because we’re running consistently, learning a lot from the car, getting a lot of data, cross-correlating with [the team] back at Maranello with the simulator. That was the first objective and I think we achieved it. It’s a matter of staying focused on ourselves and trying to be the best. I think, as Ferrari, we should try to be at least outsiders, try to be as close as we can [to Mercedes and Red Bull],” – Mattia Binotto continued.
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The developments which Scuderia Ferrari will work on and will be able to bring to the F1-75 car will be key during 2022 and can decide the fight with Mercedes and Red Bull, as Mattia Binotto explains:
“If we look at the performance so far, [it is] so difficult to judge. Certainly, I hope that we will be very close at the end altogether. When we look at the last seasons, 2017 has been a good season, 2018 has been a good season as well. Since 2020 it has been a very difficult one for us and for 2021 most of the car was frozen as well. I’m pretty sure that team is a great team and can be a strong team. I am pretty sure that we can prove once again this year that we can be back to being competitive, but that’s where we are focused on and there is much to do. I think it’s a very long season. Bahrain is the first race but there will be another 22 or 21 races after it and I think that developments through the season will be a key element as well, so let’s see.” – he concluded.
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