Ferrari performance’not yet representative of reality’. Ferrari performance'not yet representative of reality'.

There is no doubt that Scuderia Ferrari is doing better than expected so far in the 2021 Formula 1 season. Many had anticipated that the Maranello team would do better this year, but from the start of the championship, the Italian side managed to be right behind Mercedes and Red Bull in qualifying and to battle with McLaren for third place in the teams’ championship.

Especially the performances during the races in Monaco and Baku were fantastic, with Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc who scored two pole positions on the street of Monte Carlo and at the Baku City Circuit. Nevertheless, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto has admitted that these results are not representative of the Maranello team’s current situation and position, as he explained in a recent interview for Motorsport.com “It was great to take pole position in Monaco and Baku, but that doesn’t reflect our real speed.” He certainly sees Mercedes and Red Bull being even faster and more consistent than the SF21 car.

“I think there are two cars ahead of us that are clearly stronger, without a doubt. But we are making progress. We are making progress because we are learning about the car and we are using the car better than at the beginning of the season. We also know that there will be some developments in the future. So that’s where we are in my opinion. In the race, I think we were hoping for a bit better speed, especially after seeing the qualifying.” – he explained.

Ferrari performance during the race
Where Scuderia Ferrari is already quite close to Mercedes and Red Bull especially in the qualifying sessions, this is definitely not the case during when it comes to race. This was also clear in Baku at the start of the race. The Italian does have an explanation for this.

“We knew we would have a hard time on the soft. It’s a fact that we had the hardest time on that tyre. On the hard tyre, we were competitive in free air because I think Carlos’ speed in free air was representative. We definitely need to improve our speed in the race, without a doubt. But I don’t think we were mediocre in free air. We were struggling in dirty air and both drivers mentioned that. So that’s also what our analysis is going to focus on.” – he concluded.

If Ferrari can make a move during the race, third place in the constructors’ championship seems a very realistic target.