The Ferrari team had the opportunity to get rid of all the ghosts that have been arising throughout the 2022 Formula 1 season since Red Bull started a dominating streak that catapulted them to the top of the general classification in both championships in the Italian Grand Prix.
With a special decoration to honor the Prancing Horse’s 75-year history, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz ventured into Monza to try to achieve a victory that had eluded them since the appointment in Austria. However, things did not go as expected in Maranello, and that is that the pole position they achieved with the Monegasque was just one more statistic, since they did not climb to the top at the end of Sunday.
The director of the Italian team, Mattia Binotto , who has been in the crosshairs of criticism for his management of the team for several months, acknowledged that it was “a better weekend”, despite the fact that the last safety car caused by the withdrawal of Daniel Ricciardo prevented his two drivers from finishing on the podium.
“It has been a better weekend for us, we have been able to see it from qualifying, where we got pole position and Carlos [Sainz] did very well. In the race we have shown that we have a good car, both drivers have done a fantastic test,” said the Swiss.
“Carlos has made a comeback from the end and is the one who has made the most progress from the back. Without the Safety Car, he could have finished on the podium with new tyres, but Max [Verstappen] is still faster than us, maybe not on real pace, but yes in the degradation of the tires”, Binotto continued on DAZN before doubting the way in which the FIA managed the end of the test.
When asked about how he had seen those last turns he said: “More than a pity, it’s disappointing, and something to be angry about. We don’t understand why the cars behind the Safety Car didn’t unfold, because there were no safety problems, and They need to be faster, sport is a show, and the FIA needs to do its job better.”
Ferrari was left with a second and fourth position in their home grand prix, a hopeless booty if they want to avoid Red Bull’s spoils in the next rounds, something that seems to happen due to the advantage of Milton Keynes.
“We had a little more wear and tear than Max [Verstappen], and if we had kept the same strategy it would not have been the best choice for us. We had to play, to take risks,” he explained.
“We saw that Max was ready to stop and he chose the opposite option to us, so if we had continued, he would have stopped. That said, we were unlucky because the Virtual Safety Car ended while we were still in the pitlane.
“I think it was a good choice for us, we knew that with that we could have a safety car at the end that would have changed things. That appeared, but he finished the race with him,” said the Ferrari chief.
