A grand prix of total management by Scuderia Ferrari: at Interlagos, the Maranello team took fifth and sixth place, but Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz could not do better as long as Red Bull Racing or Mercedes don’t run into problems. And so Brazil smiled at the Italian side and their team principal Mattia Binotto. Who, in fact, is happy for increasing the gap to McLaren (+31.5 points) but the Ferrari boss did not hide the fact that he was a bit nervous in the start, when Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz fought wheel to wheel for fifth position on the straight before Turn 4.
“These are important points for the goal of third place. There has never been so much difference between us and McLaren, on both sides. There are still three GPs left, two of which are unknown, I think there will be a battle until the end, we must try to stay ahead. The positive aspects are the points earned against McLaren and the reliability, which so far has proved an indispensable element.” – Mattia Binotto told Sky Sport F1.
“With a view to 2022, we know that now our car cannot fight with the leaders. It was born from last year’s project, which had problems and weak points. The car has grown very well and the home team is working hard for 2022. But we are also growing on the track, in terms of management, strategies, pit stops, drivers. They fought in the first laps and in the first corners, it made me rethink of 2019: I feared but this time they didn’t take excessive risks. Between them they know exactly what to do. I hope to see them fight each other again, it’s a good thing, but the most important thing is that they maintain a safety margin”.
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“Hierarchy decided from the start? Yes, it was important and decisive. Once we gained the positions it was a question of managing the tires and the pit stops. Both drivers had a very close race, they had the same pace and this is also satisfying. Trend vs McLaren? We have certainly made progress. The latest evolution of the power unit has helped us with race management, defense, and also to be able to drive with greater aerodynamic load. If we look at the races from Russia onwards we had a small advantage over McLaren.” – Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto concluded.
