F1 News
Binotto wants to discuss costs: Will Mercedes have to pay Verstappen's damages?
- GPblog.com
Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll caused havoc at the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez had their races ruined with consequences for later in the season. Mattia Binotto wants to see if the culprit should also pay for this.
Damage for Ferrari
Perez, Norris and Verstappen were the victims of a mistake by Bottas in Hungary, but behind them things also went wrong for Stroll. The Canadian took Leclerc with him in his mistake, and caused a lot of damage to Leclerc. This damage has cost Ferrari up to 2.5 million euros, and Binotto is fed up with that. He wants to see if the person who caused the damage should also pay for it.
''I think there is definitely something to be said for it. I think there are certainly no obvious solutions, but it is something that we will undoubtedly discuss with the FIA, F1 and the teams in the coming weeks to see if there is a solution for the future,'' said the Ferrari team boss at Motorsport.com.
New F1 engine
Binotto is particularly busy with this because the damage also has implications for the rest of the season. Leclerc's engine now needs to be replaced, while it could otherwise have been used later in the season. With the limited amount of engines that can be used, this is causing teams problems.
''There is talk of a further reduction in 2025, from three engines to two per season. It is clear that the fewer engines there are, the more important the issue becomes. We will discuss this with the other teams and the FIA. It is a current issue that has been raised by several parties and therefore deserves to be examined. But I don't think there is an easy solution,'' the Italian concludes.