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Ferrari team boss on Leclerc problem: "I don't know"
- GPblog.com
It was a two-faced Sunday for Ferrari in Austria. Charles Leclerc won, but important points were lost when Carlos Sainz crashed out. In the end, tyre management was the deciding factor, although even for Leclerc it almost went wrong in the closing stages.
"I am certainly very happy because now it's two wins in a row - Silverstone and here now in Austria. They are home races for Red Bull," said Binotto to Sky Sports, who thus sees his racing stable suffering two sensitive blows. "It was important for us to recover and come back after let's say a few races where we were not winning but we had the potential."
DNF for Sainz is a blemish
The Ferrari team boss, however, cannot deny that despite Leclerc's win, he is not going to bed entirely happy tonight. Once again the Italian team was plagued by engine problems. This time it was Carlos Sainz who stalled just before the flag fell. "We are a bit disappointed by Carlos' engine failure. It could have been an even better Sunday."
Ferrari seemed to be coping much better with the relegation in Spielberg, especially on the hard tyres. "Honestly, it's difficult to judge what the other guys [Red Bull] are doing. We looked at our data yesterday during the sprint race to try and find the right balance for today to manage the balance of the tyres. Somehow we managed the tyres and the drivers handled it well. They put pressure on Max, which was different from yesterday's race. This was the best way to put pressure on Max," said Binotto.
Problems Leclerc
In the closing stages, Leclerc complained several times about his brake pedal. The Monegasque had to drive around the problems, but he did win again after a long time. What the problem is, Ferrari doesn't know yet. "To be honest, I don't know. I looked at the data, but we have to wait for the car to see if it was mechanical or not mechanical."