Mattia Binotto, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Circuit de Catalunya, 2020

Ferrari’s best result of the year bodes well for 2021 – Binotto

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In the round-up: Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto says the team’s somewhat recovered form points to a more consistent and better-understood car for the 2021 season.

What they say

Binotto, who did not attend the Turkish Grand Prix where Ferrari had their strongest result of the season so far, said that the Scuderia’s improvements showed their developments for 2021 are on the right path:

It’s obviously very important for Ferrari doing well at the moment. We knew that we have improved the car and if you look at the last races we improved our position on the race. I think the car has become more consistent and the car has become a bit faster.

So it’s great at least to have those results because I think it’s great for next year, it’s great looking ahead as well the next races. I think that as well in terms of constructors positions it’s not the end of the championship. So it’s encouraging.

A lot of people are working hard back at home, trying to understand the weaknesses of the car and addressing them. And especially they are preparing for the next season and I think those results are encouraging ourselves.

Quotes: Dieter Rencken

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Comment of the day

Sumedh says that the excitement of the Turkish Grand Prix wasn’t specifically caused by low-grip conditions at the circuit – but that it was something different from the usual. Could that bode well for Bahrain Outer?

Just as the 2010 Canada race led us to the Pirelli era high degradation tyres, let this not be the start of a low-grip Tarmac era.

What F1 needs is variety. Some low grip, some high grip, some smooth surfaces, some prone to graining, etc… Other sports embrace such variance – cricket has spinning tracks / seaming tracks, large grounds / small grounds; tennis has grass / clay / hard courts – but in F1, the teams and drivers show reservations. Hence, it is critical that FIA and F1 push through and add variety to the calendar.

For me, it was no problem to see that turn eight wasn’t as fast as before. And frankly, the low speeds due to lower grip are a problem only because we know how this track had higher grip before. If you think of the stadium complex in the Circuit of the Americas, it has always been low grip (since its first race in 2012) limiting higher speeds through that slow section. But no one complains about it as no one knows how much faster it can be with higher grip.

It was more fun to see drivers struggling and having to struggle to find grip. It rewarded them with two to three seconds worth of lap time in the race vs getting a reward of just two to three tenths worth of lap time in a regular race. While the gap was undoubtedly exaggerated by the rain, even without rain, this would have been a fun race.
Sumedh

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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18 comments on “Ferrari’s best result of the year bodes well for 2021 – Binotto”

  1. I think Ferrari will claw back a huge amount of engine performance next year anyway and hopefully this year as concentrated their efforts on aero performance and efficiency to overcome a couple of years of poor design. Its pretty clear they put all their eggs in the engine basket for the previous 4 years at the expense of their aero performance.

    I’m expecting them to be a solid third at least next year, possibly fighting with Mclaren.

    1. Ferrari are not that clever, they got fooled by their Pu power. For 2020 they copied the rear end, during the season the merc bargeboards, but they are still one of the few that did not copy the nose. The suspension they can’t copy because the fia managed to make sure only merc can use it until 2021.

      1. I think (and certainly hope) that they are faster next year. I just can’t get it out of my head that this seasons result is something to do with that “secret deal” they made with FIA. Or the more reasonable explanation is that they just messed it up. Or bit of both.

  2. For Binotto to make that kind of statement on the result of one extraordinary race is just hype. It should be ignored and I’m surprised anybody would make it a headline.

    1. Exactly! Let’s see how they do in the last three races, I suspect not very well.

  3. The best irrelevant result of the season.

  4. COTD is absolutely spot on, couldn’t have put it better myself. The calendar is crying out for variety and this year has provided it to an extent.

    1. @frood19 F1 should absolutely strive for a calendar of varied surfaces, but most of all tracks that are varied so we don’t get those that just fits one car characteristic like Baku for example. That’s more important IMO.

  5. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but is it true that Binotto contacted Leclerc to offer his sympathy but did not congratulate Vettel?

    1. @johnrkh I wouldn’t be surprised if so the way Vettel is almost sabotaging the whole season.

      1. You really think it’s Vettel doing the sabotaging?

        In my opinion, there’s no way that Ferrari would have ever allowed a driver they sacked (before the start of the season) to beat their newly appointed golden child. That was never going to happen.

    2. As shown in one of the articles on this site also.
      correct.

    3. That was reported, yes. However, I have no way of knowing if it’s true or not.

  6. Great news for Channel 4 and Alex Jacques. I just hope we’ll continue to hear him covering the feeder series, and the pitwall channel on F1TV too (which is starting to be a credible alternative to Sky’s coverage, even if the pitwall view is perfectible).

    He may be at times a little bit overheated but I find it often very welcome and entertaining. And his deep knowledge and experience of drivers and past seasons from F3 all the way up to F1 really adds context, hopefully this will continue.

  7. I agree with COTD in terms of F1 needing more variety in the circuit design & surface.

    A gripe i’ve had for a while now is how samey the calender has got the past 15-ish years. The circuits all have similar characteristics, They follow similar design traits with similar runoff’s & similar surfaces among other things. You go back 20-30 years & each circuit felt different with it’s own characteristics & challenges, Some which came from the layout itself but others which came from the track surface.

    Hungary for example used to be really bumpy with a low grip surface that offered a different challenge to others, Monaco & other street circuits tended to be similar. Yet now they all have very similar surfaces in terms of offering good grip & been fairly smooth & if a track gets a bit bumpy the resurface it in those areas to remove them. Even Monaco & other street circuits are resurfaced regularly so lack that aspect of what those types of circuits used to offer.

  8. The standard (i.e. not this year’s) tracks are boring because they are all the same, which is a result of having one firm design most of them. You get 1 or 2 super long straights with tight turns at the end for an overtake opportunity (that usually you don’t need because DRS has provided it already), and then a slow turny bit, and then a mid-speed bit.

    As for Ferrari thinking Turkey means anything for 2021, that’s just nonsensical. A rainy race on a track with no grip that likely won’t be raced again. What it may mean is that the Ferrari heats its tires up a bit too much for dry races. But I don’t see it meaning that Ferrari are going to be fighting Verstappen regularly next year.

  9. This is not the first time Norris is open about struggling with nerves and the strain etc, and although I much like the intention, this is motorsport with fans not known for finesse so will likely see this as a weakness and score him down for it.

  10. Now we knownfor sure that Binotto is delirious

Comments are closed.