Mattia Binotto did not hide his frustration that Ferrari lost in Monaco, but said that the mistakes that cost Charles Leclerc the victory will only strengthen the Maranello team for the rest of the season
Ferrari is aware that the defeat in Monaco to Red Bull was a consequence of its own mistakes, but Mattia Binotto preferred to see the positive side of the disastrous strategy that cost Charles Leclerc the victory. The Italian boss believes that this is the kind of situation that will only make the Maranello team even stronger for the 2022 Formula 1 season.
From free practice, Ferrari had shown a better pace than its Taurine rival, with the Monegasque starting from pole position in the race and opening up an advantage in the lead. However, everything changed when the pit-stops started: Red Bull was shrewder to stop Sergio Pérez first and switch to intermediates, while both Carlos Sainz and Leclerc wasted time with laggards on the track. To top it all off, the second stop window was a disaster: Ferrari called both its drivers into the pits at the same time, and this dropped the second-place World Championship leader to fourth and out of the podium.
Leclerc still complained a lot about the car and also did not spare the team from criticism, saying that "mistakes happen, but today there were too many mistakes." "I am sure that these situations will make us stronger," Binotto declared. "We are well aware that being competitive is one thing, winning is another. The level of difficulty is another. I believe that, as a team, we are still progressing, learning, and it is possible that this will take some more time," he added.
Ferrari had already suffered a hard blow in the previous round, in Spain, when Leclerc had to retire due to power unit problems when he again had victory in his hands. As a result, Max Verstappen not only won in Barcelona, but also took the lead in the standings. The third place in Monaco also gave the Red Bull Dutchman a further advantage at the top of the standings.
"It's definitely disappointing to have the fastest car, take pole and not win the race. It is, in a way, a disappointment," he acknowledged. "What happened in Spain was completely different, we had reliability problems when we were clearly leading the race. Here, I think there were circumstances that made it more difficult for us. We were not good at judging and deciding, so it's frustrating," Binotto concluded.
The eighth round of the 2022 Formula One season takes place on June 12 in Azerbaijan. GRANDE PRÊMIO will follow all track activities LIVE and IN REAL TIME starting on Friday with the free practice sessions.