Scuderia Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has reiterated that in case the Maranello team will be able to challenge for race wins and the Formula 1 titles in the next season, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc will be free to fight for position on track as Ferrari will not impose team orders, at least in the first part of the championship.
Carlos Sainz joined Scuderia Ferrari from McLaren at the end of the 2020 campaign and impressed in his first season with the Italian side, despite being out-qualified 13 times in 22 races by his Monegasque team-mate. The Spanish driver was able to score four podium finishes as compared to Charles Leclerc’s one and his consistency allowed him to finish the season in fifth place, two places ahead of his Maranello teammate.
When Scuderia Ferrari signed Charles Leclerc three years ago, Mattia Binotto took a different approach and stated that four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel would be the lead driver. However, a young Charles Leclerc proved his was more than able to challenge his experienced teammate and eventually finished the year 24 points in front of the current Aston Martin driver.
Last season, when Carlos Sainz joined Ferrari to replace the German driver, Mattia Binotto explained there would be no preference given to either the 27-year-old or Charles Leclerc, but at the same time the Ferrari boss was aware that the Maranello team would not be able to fight for race wins in 2021. The Scuderia is confident it will make a further step forward this season and there is speculation that the 90 percent fossil fuels and 10 percent ethanol blend developed together with Shell will help the team return to championship contention.
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If this turns out to be true, Mattia Binotto explained however that the team goal must take precedence over personal glory, while at the same time confirming that he will let the drivers fight on track should they be involved in a championship fight: “In terms of drivers, as we have often said, that the track that will dictate it. The priority is always the team but, no doubt, if they can compete for an important position in the championship, that will be the track that will tell who’s ahead.” – he added.
Charles Leclerc confirmed his impressive pace in qualifying in 2021 and most of the teams finished ahead of Carlos Sainz also on Sunday, but a combination of crashes and technical problems cost him relative to the 27-year-old, and the Italian is aware that these factors also play a part in a race for the championship.
“Sometimes, I think it’s not only about driver talent and driver capacity. A driver can be unfortunate, and having damages, reliability issues, crashes. So I don’t think that we need, at that stage certainly, we will not have a policy of number one or number two, but we simply discuss it based on positions on track whenever it will become.” – he concluded.
Ferrari’s new Formula 1 car, which will be presented on 17 February, will be named F1-75.
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