Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto has given the Italian side an “eight out of ten” for how the work was carried out during the 2022 Formula 1 pre-season testing sessions in Barcelona and Bahrain, as the Maranello team proved speed and reliability ahead of the first round of the new F1 championship.
Scuderia Ferrari have been in the spotlight during the last few weeks as a result of what could be seen in the testing sessions, with Mercedes and Red Bull indicating the Italian side as the team to beat in this first part of the 2022 Formula 1 campaign.
So much so that Mercedes fear they could win the Bahrain Grand Prix by a “clear margin”, a comment that Ferrari have all but scoffed at.
In a recent interview for Sky Italia, Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto explained: “I heard someone saying we’re the favourites. The others are the favourites, they’re the World Champions, who with the Drivers’, who with the Constructors’. They had such an advantage last year which proves how strong they are as a team too.” – he added.
Despite the fact that Ferrari was able to complete more laps than its rivals, it’s also true that Red Bull Racing finished on top on the final day of Bahrain pre-season testing, with Max Verstappen setting an impressive 1:31.720 that was actually seven-tenths faster than what the Maranello team was able to achieve in Sakhir during the three-day test.
It should therefore be pointed out that Red Bull looked a lot stronger on the final day of testing thanks to an updated aero package, with the RB18 featuring revised sidepods and a new floor for Saturday’s running.
Mattia Binotto explains that shows Red Bull have the ability and resources to immediately react when need be.
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“Red Bull the last day of testing brought some upgrades, proving they’re able to develop and adapt the car quickly,” he said. “And to be very fast again. So I expect a very strong competition and we’re aware of that.” – he continued.
The Ferrari boss confirmed he is pleased with the Maranello team’s performance during the six days of testing, most importantly because the data from the track backed up the wind tunnel data.
“Concerning the preparation, it’s a big thing, meaning we arrived prepared, we ran consistently, without many set-backs and collecting a lot of data. But this is testing, which has nothing to do with the performance. The goal for us was to collect data, trying to understand the car and collaborate the data with the instruments we have at home, such as the simulator and wind tunnel. And I think we did this exercise well and this means we prepared ourselves well. I would give an eight out of ten for the preparation.”
The 2022 Formula One championship starts this weekend in Bahrain, as the Ferrari boss expects “three teams” to fight for the race win and podium finishes: “If I have to say that, I expect three teams to be close to each other, without great differences anymore, but with those two [Mercedes and Red Bull], three tenths that will make the difference in the end. We would like to undermine them, but once again I think they are the favourites and we are the outsiders.” – Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto concluded.
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