The Maranello team and the one that was the first leader of the world championship in 2022, Charles Leclerc, are on the move after a combination of engine problems, incorrect strategies and driving errors in recent weeks.
Leclerc’s latest failure, a spin at the French Grand Prix, left the door wide open for his main rival, Max Verstappen, to claim yet another victory.
The Dutchman’s victory allows him to enjoy a 63-point lead in the drivers’ standings over the Monegasque, while Red Bull sits 82 points ahead of Ferrari in the constructors’ championship.
But while the gap seems immense, it is not insurmountable, with Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto saying the only thing his team can do is aim for victory in each of the remaining races.
Reflecting on whether the Italian squad’s title hopes now hinge on a Red Bull stumble, Binotto said: “I don’t know, because I don’t count points. If you had asked me before this race what the difference was with Red Bull or with Max, I couldn’t answer you because I’m not looking at her.”
“What we are focused on is trying to go to each race and get the maximum result in each one. It did not happen here in Paul Ricard, but I think we are already focused on Hungary and going there for the double.”
“I think that each race counts the same as the others. At the end of the season, we will do the math and see where we are.”
Binotto said that the fact that the Ferrari car had proved so quick, as could be seen from Leclerc’s pace before retiring in France, had left him feeling that the team had the potential to pull off an impressive run.
“I think the most important thing is to see the good car,” he explained. “There is no reason not to win 10 races from here to the end.”
“I think the way of looking at it has to be positive, and I like to be positive, stay optimistic. Could something happen to Max Verstappen and Red Bull? It already happened to them like it happened to us. Maybe it will happen too.”
“But I’m not counting on it. I think we have to focus on ourselves and do our best.”
While Leclerc did account for the cost of the mistake that left him out of the French GP, Binotto is clear that the Monegasque’s pace is such that things could turn around very quickly.
“What I have told Charles is that things are more complicated, but not impossible,” he said. “And we’re just going to enjoy it more in the event that we can turn it into a win at the end.”
“We have to be focused in each of the races. If I look at the last few races, we always had great potential. It did not become the best results in terms of points for the championship, but right now there is no reason why in the next 10 races can’t happen.
“The potential is there. The drivers are fantastic. So I’m quite positive,” concluded the manager of the Maranello team .
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