The Ferrari team remains the great reference in motorsport’s top category after the first three races of the 2022 Formula 1 season. Mattia Binotto , team principal, analyzed the weekend and spoke of the different performances of Leclerc and Sainz .
First of all, Charles Leclerc once again closed a perfect weekend. Pole position, fastest lap and undisputed victory at the Australian Grand Prix. The Monegasque left Melbourne with 26 points, the maximum possible, and that made him add a total of 71, for the 37 of George Russell in second place and the 33 of his teammate, in third place.
On the other side of the garage, Carlos Sainz did not have his best weekend at Albert Park, after being quite fast in the first sessions of the event, in Q3 everything began to go wrong after two setbacks that left him in ninth position.
In the race, the Spanish driver could not turn the situation around. After several more problems before the traffic lights went out, he spun and ended up retiring on the third lap.
“It’s been a tough weekend for Carlos [Sainz] and it’s a shame, because he drove very well, he was very fast in practice and I’m sure he could have made a good qualifying, but first the red flag and then the Car issues starting in the garage compromised his position on the grid,” Mattia Binotto told DAZN F1 .
“Today we had to change the steering wheel when he was already on the starting grid, he also had the hard tire, which was not the easiest, and in these conditions it is never easy for a driver to be able to concentrate,” he added.
Despite all the mishaps, at Ferrari they continue to blindly trust Carlos Sainz ‘s performance, and they look forward to his recovery at the next Emilia Romagna GP.
“We have to take the positives out of Carlos’ weekend and I think we’ve seen that he’s been very fast again and that he can do well. I’m looking forward to Imola and see if he can do well there.”
In reference to Leclerc , the director of the Maranello team was really delighted and praised the good work of the Monegasque driver during the Australian Grand Prix, especially in key moments.
“Pole, fastest lap and victory. I am very happy with this great moment from Charles, he is driving very well, the car is behaving well, and that is good for the team.”
“We have to go race by race because there is still a lot of season left, the next one is at Imola and we will try to do our best”, concluded Mattia Binotto .
