Binotto assures that Ferrari will not change its approach at the start of the school year

Scuderia Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto insists there is no need for the team to change its approach when the second half of the season kicks off in Belgium at the end of August.

The Ferrari team started the 2022 season on a high note with Charles Leclerc securing pole position, victory and fastest race lap in the first round of the season in Bahrain. But subsequently, reliability issues, strategic errors and driving errors cost the Maranello team many points as they saw their arch-rival Red Bull gradually widen the gap in the Constructors’ World Championship. , while Charles Leclerc – who led the drivers’ championship at one point – now finds himself with an 80-point deficit over Max Verstappen.

Despite the ever-increasing pressure on his shoulders, Mattia Binotto insists Ferrari doesn’t need to change its approach in the second half of the season: « There’s nothing to change, I think it’s always about trust, learning, building skills. » estimated Mattia Binotto just after the Hungarian Grand Prix won by Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.

“If I look again at the results of the first half of the season, there is no reason for us to change. I think we just have to understand [ce qui s’est passé en Hongrie] and address that and try to be competitive, like we’ve been in twelve races so far. So there is no reason for us not to be competitive in the next [GP de Belgique].”

Regarding Ferrari’s performance at the Hungarian Grand Prix where Carlos Sainz finished fourth and Charles Leclerc sixth, Binotto insisted it was an isolated incident due to a lack of performance from the car rather than an error of strategy as many have thought: “Something went wrong on the car. We noticed that Charles was faster than Carlos – like Hamilton was faster than Russell – but as we saw, Hamilton’s strategy didn’t work for Carlos either. Then, of course, we have to analyze whether it would have worked for Charles. The biggest problem today was the car.” said Binotto just after the finish of the race in Budapest.

With nine races now to go before the end of the season, Ferrari trails Red Bull by 97 points in the constructors’ championship, while Charles Leclerc trails Max Verstappen by 80 points in the drivers’ championship. When asked in what state of mind Leclerc is approaching the second half of the season, Binotto replied: « I think he builds for the team and for himself and he sees every race as a single opportunity to win. »

“We all win and lose together, [la Hongrie] wasn’t a great race, but I think there was a lot of potential. I think we need to focus on reason first [de la mauvaise performance]fix it and come back even stronger.”

The next Formula 1 world championship race is scheduled for August 28 at the Spa-Francorchamps track in Belgium.