Mattia Binotto has defended Ferrari's current policy of allowing Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to duel on the track. In Saturday's race at the Red Bull Ring, championship leader Max Verstappen took the victory, while the red-clad duo fought for second place.
Mattia Binotto has defended Ferrari's current policy of allowing Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to duel on the track. In Saturday's race at the Red Bull Ring, championship leader Max Verstappen claimed victory, while the red-clad duo fought for second place.
The Ferrari boss insists that Leclerc and Sainz "are still in the fight for the world championship" "As a team, you always have to make the wisest move, because the team always comes first. But I am very happy to see my two drivers fighting," he said.
"Whatever we choose to do is wrong. If we had only one outstanding driver, we would give him priority, but that's not the situation now. Our strategy is to get as many points as possible for the team," he continued.
"We think this strategy also favors our drivers, because it takes points away from the opponents, and the opponents shouldn't be Charles to Charles and Charles to Charles. It should be Max, Lewis and the others. As things currently stand, they are free to race," Binotto added.
Mercedes' Toto Wolff said he sympathizes with Ferrari, commenting "welcome to the club" when considering the dilemma faced by Binotto.
"If they let their drivers race each other, as they did today, there will be criticism because the drivers are costing each other time. If they make a team order, they get even more criticism," he concluded.