Binotto counters Vettel: Ferrari on right path

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto says the Scuderia are on the right path and believes evidence was seen during the French Grand Prix that they have begun to reel in Mercedes. Ferrari came home third and fourth in Le Castellet, with Charles Leclerc on the podium.

Having had the pace to compete with Mercedes in Canada, it was normal service resumed in France as the Silver Arrows were utterly dominant, ending every session one and two in the timesheets, with Lewis Hamilton leading Valtteri Bottas home in the race.

It continued Mercedes whitewash of 2019 so far and was the Silver Arrows' 10th win in a row – leaving them just one off McLaren's all-time record.

Sebastian Vettel finished fifth, after starting seventh on the grid behind both McLarens, and suggested over the weekend that the bulk of an upgrade package brought to France had been removed by the time the race rolled around as it had not improved the car, saying Ferrari had "failed" over the weekend.

Binotto seemed to counter that somewhat, saying that elements of Ferrari's new package had had the desired effect.

"In terms of performance, we are not yet where we want to be," he said. "We knew this circuit would be tough for us and to finish with Charles right behind Bottas is encouraging.

"The developments we have introduced since the Spanish GP have allowed us to close the gap and we have shown that we are on the right path.

"Some of these updates have proved to be very useful, others unfortunately less so, but we know that we have potential to improve significantly.

"At this point, we are confident, aware that there is still a lot to do, but that we have the ability to develop the car and to be competitive on all tracks.”

Related

French Grand Prix

F1 driver hails 'INCREDIBLE' race return opportunity as track options assessed

• July 24, 2023 15:57

French Grand Prix

French president gives HUGE update on historic F1 race

• July 13, 2023 14:57