Ferrari play down impact of Lewis Hamilton ‘rocket’ power unit. Ferrari play down impact of Hamilton 'rocket' engine.

Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto said that he does not feel Lewis Hamilton’s dominant display at the Interlagos circuit in the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix last weekend was fully engine related.

Mercedes provided their title challenger a fifth new Internal Combustion Engine this year, which was used at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace and not many anticipated the level of performance shown on track by Mercedes, after a few races in which Red Bull seemed superior. Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from Friday’s qualifying session and had a five-place grid engine penalty for the race on Sunday, but was still able to secure the won, passing title rival Max Verstappen on-track to do so.

Red Bull talked up the power advantage that they believed was afforded to Hamilton by that fresh ICE, with current advisor and head of Red Bull’s driver development program Helmut Marko describing it as a “rocket” which Mercedes had created. Yet Mattia Binotto does not seem to agree, believing instead that the Autódromo José Carlos Pace circuit was more at play, a venue which to his mind evidently just favoured Mercedes more than Red Bull.

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“I honestly don’t think it’s a power unit issue. From one track to another, a car can adapt better than the other. In Mexico, Red Bull had an advantage. In Sao Paulo it was the Mercedes. You can also see it from [Valtteri] Bottas’ performance, who did not change the engine. The difference between the two of them [Bottas and Hamilton] was small. What will matter more is how the cars adapt to the next grands prix, of which two are unknown to everyone.” – the Ferrari boss said, as reported by Sky Italia.

Mattia Binotto is referring to the Qatar and Saudi Arabian GPs, with the former serving as the next destination for this thrilling Formula 1 title battle.

But behind the Hamilton/Verstappen and Mercedes/Red Bull battles, Scuderia Ferrari is involved in its own intense fight, as the Maranello team looks to secure third place in the Constructors’ standings against McLaren.

Recent rounds have produced a struggle for form over at McLaren, who now trail Ferrari by 31.5 points. This is an advantage which Mattia Binotto is aware that Ferrari has to carefully manage during the last three events of the 2021 Formula One season, as he admitted that reliability could still play a key role in the outcome: “At the moment we are ahead of McLaren by 31 and a half points, which is the biggest gap there has been between our teams since the beginning of the season. Given that there are three races left until the end of the season, that’s a significant advantage. But I knock on wood, because reliability will remain a key factor in the remaining races.” – Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto concluded.