F1 News
Binotto aware of the facts: "Verstappen simply faster"
Mattia Binotto acknowledged that Max Verstappen was "simply faster" during the Italian Grand Prix. There was once again some strategy debate over the Ferrari team radio, but large mistakes were avoided in their home race.
Ferrari out-paced
The Italian Grand Prix at Monza painted a familiar picture. In 2022, Ferrari have got the majority of pole positions, yet Red Bull have won the most races and therefore leads both World Championships comfortably. Ferrari half expected Red Bull to be quicker in the race, particualrly with the set-up focus as Verstappen took a penalty. Binotto sumarises the race.
"At the time when we were leading the race, Leclerc had more tyre deg than Max. We were going for a one stop. We believed it was the right choice to switch to a two-stop. Not being on the same strategy of Max. They [Red Bull] probably would've done the opposite to Leclerc," he said in a conversation with Sky Sports.
"If we look at the last few races, we have not been great enough in pace and tyre deg. Here in Monza, we made a great step ahead. It's clear if we look at the cars behind us we made steps ahead. We had a great qualifying, we had more tyre deg than Max but we had a good performance compared to others."
Over recent weeks we've become familiar with questions to their drivers on the team radio. Binotto confirmed that the pit wall make the final decisions but they take into account what the driver thinks.
"The pit wall make the final decisions. We make sure we have clear conversation with the drivers who can feel the car and make inputs," Binotto added.