Scuderia Ferrari had high hopes for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but once again the Maranello team has to deal with the outcome of a difficult weekend, after being hit by a double DNF at the Baku City Circuit, as Charles Leclerc’s race ended due to a power unit failure while in P1 and Carlos Sainz had previously stopped due to an unrelated hydraulic issue on lap 9.
For Charles Leclerc it was a similar outcome to that of the Spanish Grand Prix a few weeks ago: in Barcelona the Monegasque driver was also leading the race when he had to retire due to an engine failure. At the same time, Maranello customer teams Haas and Alfa Romeo also encountered similar problems, as Kevin Magnussen and Zhou Guanyu had to retire in Azerbaijan due to suspected engine-related issues.
Mattia Binotto admitted that he was not surprised to see his team dealing with some reliability issues given the fact that Ferrari took some risks and made a huge effort to upgrade the power unit ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 season with the clear goal of getting close or even in front of 2021 pacesetters, Red Bull and Mercedes.
“I’m not surprised and certainly concerned and disappointed. Because I think it’s something that we need to try to fix, and we didn’t yet. But I cannot blame the team, because I know the effort they have put in to address the performance from the past. I know it’s a long journey, and we didn’t get enthusiastic at the start of the season. As I said it’s a journey which we are on, and there is still another step which is required right now. I think as a team again we will stay united, work hard. We have been capable of doing a proper job so far, we know that the job is not finished, but we will do it. I would rather prefer to have good performance and try to fix reliability rather than vice versa.” – the Ferrari boss explained after the Baku incidents.
Mattia Binotto confirmed that the Maranello team’s biggest dilemma is finding a definitive fix to the causes of the ongoing engine reliability problems which risk compromising Ferrari’s chances of fighting for the titles this season:
“It is a concern. It’s even more a concern because I do not have the answer, and I would like to have one right now, and know what was the problem. Only the fact that we will need to fit another new engine, yeah it’s a fact, it’s very early in the season. Sometimes the problems you may have are not a short fix. So I don’t know what will be the strategy we need to adopt, if it’s simply shorter mileage, or a different type of usage, or a short fix, because whatever has happened is really a short fix solution. So something that I think we’ll understand in the next days, and hopefully we’ll have a clearer answer by the time we’re in Canada.” – he continued.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection from Puma! Enter the online Puma Store and shop securely! And get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
However, Mattia Binotto does not feel that Ferrari must win the next round of the Formula 1 season, the Canadian Grand Prix, or consider itself out of the championship fight againt Red Bull:
“I don’t think that it is a must win at all. We will be focused race-by-race, try to optimise our potential on the weekends. Today certainly something went wrong, and it’s not only the reliability, we need to look at all the details. But when back at the factory I think as usual, it’s lesson learned, try to understand, move forward and try to do it as soon as possible, and making sure that whatever we are doing is making the product stronger.” – the Ferrari team principal concluded.
Leave a Reply