F1 | Mexico GP | Binotto on Ferrari's lack of pace: "We were not expecting it, we thought we could have been certainly a lot better."
In his post-race remarks, Mattia Binotto revealed that his team "didn't have the capacity to run maximum power" but also indicated that the problem is deeper than that and one which first needs to be identified before it can be possibly be solved.
Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal and Managing Director, Mattia Binotto, spoke post-race in Mexico to media online, which included Motorlat, and reflected on his team’s disappointing Mexico City Grand Prix. Having seen his drivers far off the pace of Oracle Red Bull Racing and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team in Sunday’s race, Binotto was at a loss as to where the lack of pace had come from. A far cry from the dominant early season force seen from the Prancing Horse which is now in the crosshairs of the Silver Arrows.
Everyone knows that things move fast in Formula One but this past weekend showed Scuderia Ferrari just how fast their rivals are. Carlos Sainz had a lonely race but despite securing P4 when the chequered flag fell was still 58.123s behind race winner Max Verstappen. Meanwhile, Sainz’s teammate Charles Leclerc, who had held a 34-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship after his Australian Grand Prix win back in March (which gave the tifosi hope of a first World title since Kimi Raikkonen’s 2007 accolade) was a further 10 seconds behind as he crossed the line 68.774s behind the victorious Dutchman. An alarming situation in Maranello no doubt as the team that had been in a tight battle with Red Bull Racing now finds itself being hunted by Mercedes.
In his post-race remarks, Mattia Binotto revealed that his team "didn't have the capacity to run maximum power" but also indicated that the problem is deeper than that and one which first needs to be identified before it can be possibly be solved. A challenging task with just two races remaining.
“In terms of power unit, we were not at our best performance for the weekend, but I don't think that's explaining the most. That’s part of the equation, but there is more than that. There is certainly more than that, and it's something which we need to look at and there is not a clear answer right now.
"The ride was not great. The balance was not great. I'm pretty sure if I'm listening at the drivers later on in the debriefing, they will tell me that the car was not turning and the reason why I think it has to be looked at and we have not a clear explanation right now." Binotto said.
Worse still for the man leading Scuderia Ferrari, was the fact that these difficulties were such a surprise to the team as he had never thought the weekend “could have been so difficult”. When expanding this idea further it became clear just how unexpected the lack of pace had been.
"Up to FP1 as well, we didn't realise it. It was only later in the weekend that we found out that the performance was not great. Maybe, as well, FP2 and the tyre testing did not help us to assess the weaknesses in the car setup... we were not expecting it, we thought we could have been certainly a lot better and more competitive, but that was not the case." Binotto stated.
With such a spotlight on his team, Mattia Binotto also took a move from the playbook of shifting attention to someone else as he highlighted an error, he deemed Mercedes to have made previously and questioned why it did not get mentioned more: “In Hungary, we were being criticised and normally when we are doing things which are not completely right. Mercedes maybe have lost the last race as well by not choosing the right tyres in Austin. It is not only down to us to make different choices or mistakes."
On the face of it this may seem a strange remark but it also was no doubt mentioned as Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix saw strategical decisions called into question again. Nevertheless, Binotto was defiant that his team made the right call - despite being so far off the pace.
“So why we came to the conclusion here before the race in terms of the strategy of starting on the soft and then the medium was the best choice was, having tested them on Friday, we saw there was not much degradation on the soft and it was sufficient to run a one-stop with a medium. So we went for it…Certainly then, in the race, we had to manage our tyres to make sure that we were surviving on a one-stop and that maybe as well was part of the cause for our slow pace today. Managing tyres has certainly been a subject for us but still, we believe that soft-medium was the right choice for the race.” Binotto claimed to the media.
Poor decisions in pitstops or not, the simple fact is that Scuderia Ferrari never looked likely to threaten Oracle Red Bull Racing or Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. A fact most evident by George Russell making an extra pitstop late on to claim the fastest lap without losing track position to Carlos Sainz.
Mattia Binotto’s recent remarks also showed he is aware of the resurgence being shown from Mercedes and as such improvements must be made if his team wish to remain in the runner up spot in the Constructors’ Championship.
“It was a very difficult weekend for us and it was clear that we were already struggling yesterday in qualifying and that was accentuated even more in today’s race. There is a lot that needs to improve, but when faced with a difficult weekend like this, it is essential to bring the cars home and pick up as many points as possible. Charles and Carlos did the best they could and the way they tackled the first few corners after the start was exemplary. It is vitally important that we improve in the last two races so as to end the season to the best of our ability.“ Binotto concluded.
It should not be all doom and gloom though as Mattia Binotto did make clear that his team has been focusing purely on the development of their 2023 challenger for some time now and so Mercedes narrowing the gap to them is to be expected. Unfortunately, what also is expected by many is that the prancing horse may stumble at the final furlong as they are taken down by a silver arrow. Binotto spoke in a way, post-race in Mexico City, showing he is determined this does not happen and time will tell as to whether he is correct. Meanwhile, the lone bull charges off in front wondering where its next competition will come from.
