Binotto, on the other hand, dismissed rumours that the F1-75 would be upgraded for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
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Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto has expressed surprise that the Scuderia is leading both championships after Charles Leclerc’s two victories in the first three races, but has stated that the F1-75 will not receive any significant upgrades for the Sprint weekend at Imola on April 22-24. Carlos Sainz spun out early in the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, putting Ferrari’s weekend on hold. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, meanwhile, retired late due to a reliability issue, and Leclerc’s subsequent Australian Grand Prix victory puts the Scuderia in front of both championships, with Red Bull third in the constructors’ and Sergio Perez their highest-placed driver after three races in P4.
“Yes, I’m certainly surprised,” said Binotto. “I think we worked hard and put a lot of priority on 2022. I knew the team was a great team and we improved ourselves compared to the past seasons, and I was hoping to have a competitive car by the start of the season.”
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“Then, coming to winter testing, we knew we had a competitive car but certainly I was not expecting such a good car to start the season; it would be unfair to think that. But I still believe the difference between us and our competitors can be very little, as we’ve seen over the past weeks, and we should have great fights in the next races.”
Ferrari will not be taking it easy while leading the championships at this early stage, as their rivals prepare to engage in a competitive development war to upgrade their cars and close the gap to the Italian team. Binotto, on the other hand, dismissed rumours that the F1-75 would be upgraded for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, which will be the first of three weekends in 2022 featuring the F1 Sprint format.
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“It will be a difficult weekend in terms of bringing upgrades and running them in the Friday practice because you need to focus your set-up on the quali in the afternoon,” Binotto said.
“If we look at ourselves, there will not be [many upgrades] in Imola because it will not be the right place. We’ve tried to mitigate, shall I say, the issue we’ve got still so far – the porpoising and the bouncing – that has affected our performance over the weekend, so we try to work on that specific point. But with the upgrades, the more significant ones will be later on in the season.”
