Mattia Binotto is not surprised that Mercedes has Red Bull’s biggest rival in the last two races, after Ferrari stopped loading its car while Mercedes continues to do so.
Ferrari has made its latest innovations for F1-75 in Singapore and Japan, with the Scuderia fine-tuning the car’s floor.
They scored a double podium in Singapore with Charles Leclerc spraying champagne in Japan, a race in which Sainz crashed on the first lap.
A race later, the first after Ferrari called for development to be halted, the Monegasque driving force again stood on the podium and overtook Lewis Hamilton at the United States Grand Prix.
This weekend, Mercedes brought new ground and lighter portions as the Brackley team raced its much-talked about front wing in Mexico, with Hamilton taking on the role of Max Verstappen’s main challenger.
With Mercedes ahead of Ferrari two races in a row, the gap in the constructors’ championship has been reduced to points.
Bito is surprised.
“Mercedes has recently developed its car more aggressively,” he told Auto Motor und Sport. “We went out earlier and aimed for 2023. “
Ferrari is well ahead of Mercedes after what Leclerc described as the “worst” weekend of the season.
– Motorsport. com (@Motorsport) October 31, 2022
F1-75 was in Mexico with Sainz crossing the finish line in 5th position and Leclerc P6, the latter almost 70 seconds winner of the Max Verstappen race.
Binotto added: “It’s vital to get any of the cars to the finish line in a bad race. Of course, we can’t count on that and we have to go back to our previous form in Brazil and Abu Dhabi. “
According to the German publication, Ferrari “was forced to reduce engine power” because the turbocharger cannot cope with the maximum height of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
That limited the team’s configuration options, neither Sainz nor Leclerc with the car.
“We weren’t comfortable in other spaces either and we have to ask ourselves what the reasons are,” Binotto added.
But, he says, “Mexico is an outlier” and he hopes the team will recover in Brazil.
With a total of 103 problems still at stake in the teams’ standings, Ferrari’s P2 is not guaranteed.
But barring an implosion of the Scuderia, it is not threatened either.
There were problems separating Ferrari and Mercedes after Japan and now, after a DNF and a “worst” Sunday, there are 40.
Split in two, i. e. 20 points per race, Mercedes will have to beat Ferrari, something they have only achieved once this season, it must be said that they have done it and they have done well.
In Ferrari’s only double DNF this season, Azerbaijan, Mercedes took 38 problems away from them, so it’s not impossible, it’s just unlikely because, let’s be honest, at the end of the day, Red Bull is virtually guaranteed maximum problems with everyone choosing. Upload the pieces.
No wonder Sainz told Marca after the Mexican GP: “On a general circuit we are still there, of course not at Red Bull level, however, Mercedes going to Brazil and Abu Dhabi not worrying us so much. “
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