Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto admitted that the Maranello team is not completely satisfied with third in the 2021 Formula 1 Constructor Standings, but at the same time, the Italian side will hold onto the positives of that position as it goes into the off-season ahead of the important 2022 championship.
Scuderia Ferrari has some important positives to take from finishing third in the standings this year if they stay ahead of McLaren at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next weekend, despite the fact that it means another year of the team failing to meet its “real objective”.
The early red flag in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix did not help the Maranello team, as drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jnr spent much of the race in battle en route to finishing seventh and eighth. They even battled each other for position on the final lap, and by finishing ahead Leclerc now has a 8.5-point advantage over his team mate, and Ferrari have 38.5 points in hand over McLaren with 44 left to score in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
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“It’s great to finish third but I think it’s really the best we could have done this year. We know that’s not the real objective for Ferrari. We know that we are the best, and the best hypothetical is still very big. But I think we can somehow be satisfied for this season, we are really looking ahead at the next one. Finishing third, somehow it gives us some serenity for the wintertime, trying to work well on what’s the next year’s car.” – he explained.
Ferrari was the first to shut its factory when the Covid-19 pandemic arrived, and also had a heavily disrupted build-up to the 2021 Formula 1 championship due to the pandemic. Their Saudi weekend included crashes for both drivers, so to leave with a strong points haul has increased morale ahead of what looks to be a more ‘standard’ winter once the Maranello team returns to Italy after the Abu Dhabi weekend.
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