Binotto: "Sometimes we do not make mistakes which are seen as mistakes"

Many called it an unnecessary risk, Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto called it brave. Charles Leclerc' s late pit stop during the Belgian Grand Prix did not turn out as hoped, but according to Binotto it was certainly not a mistake. He believes that his team is sometimes unfairly criticised for 'mistakes that are not really mistakes'.

Ferrari's strategic decisions in particular have come in for a lot of criticism during the 2022 Formula 1 season. With regularity the strategists appeared indecisive or simply made mistakes, as was the case again in Q3 of qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps when Leclerc was sent out on the wrong set of tyres.

However, Binotto believes that not every decision that goes wrong can be seen as a mistake. "Obviously there is always a need to improve and there are lessons learned which we are looking into and reflecting," he said in conversation with Racer.com. "But if I look back at the season I think there is a lot of perception from outside about what are the truth and the reality, sometimes we are not doing mistakes which have been perceived as mistakes."

By now there is little doubt about the course of the rest of the season. The gap between Red Bull Racing and Ferrari has widened once again in both championships, and with eight races to go the season will have to take a very drastic turn for Ferrari to overcome the deficit.