With Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto staying in Maranello to follow the operations from the Remote Garage, it’s up to Laurent Mekies – Ferrari’s sporting director – to lead the Italian side at the Turkish Grand Prix, even in front of the media. The French manager answered journalists’ questions in the traditional Friday press conference reserved for team leaders, which preceded the second free practice session at Istanbul Park.
Laurent Mekies has again addressed the issue of the fourth seasonal power unit used on the cars of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz and reiterated his approval of the Sprint Qualifying format.
New Ferrari power unit. “The main goal of the new hybrid system was to anticipate some of the work we are doing for next year. We are trying to validate the development direction we have taken for next season’s power unit. We used the power unit on Charles’s car and it worked smoothly all weekend, reaching the first goal. In terms of performance, this is not something that can change the balance of power, we are talking about small steps, but in the right direction. We also decided to use it on Carlos’ car, a little ahead of plans for him too. It is still too early to analyze the competitiveness of the opponents. We have only one race weekend behind us and obviously it will be necessary to wait until next year to see if we can close the gap with our rivals.” – he explained.
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Lewis Hamilton – Max Verstappen F1 title fight. “It is hard to say who will win, it’s a great battle. After fifteen races they are only two or three points apart, it’s nice to see. Looking at it from the outside, it seems that Max has had more speed in the last few races, but I’m sure it will be a great battle until the last race.” – the Ferrari sporting director added.
Sprint Qualifying. “I think Silverstone and Monza worked very well for Sprint Qualifying. I think this format forces us to have a more intense program on Fridays and this has been well received by the fans on the track and in front of the TV. We probably want even more overtaking, but globally it produces a more intense weekend and that’s what we hope fans want to see. We must be careful to carry them out on tracks that provide the opportunity to overtake. We will see what happens in Brazil. We have chosen three very different tracks to understand if we can use this format in more events. We had a very good initial opinion from everyone on Sprint Qualifying and we have already had several discussions with the FIA and F1 about it. We interact with them and give our opinions. We all agreed to wait for the third sprint race to evaluate changes to the format or parts of it, based on the opinions of the fans. But in general we have welcomed this format, a positive step forward for our sport.”
2022 Formula 1 calendar. “23 races will make up a great calendar. As a team, year after year, we draw up a program to stay in the best possible condition, both physically, nutritionally and even mentally, to make sure people can stay in good shape and in a great spirit.” – Laurent Mekies concluded.
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