Ferrari must “understand” Red Bull gains - Binotto

Mattia Binotto talking with Christian Horner — Photo: © LAT Images

Ferrari

Ferrari must “understand” Red Bull gains - Binotto

Ferrari has lost pace to Red Bull in recent weeks

Sam Hall

Saturday 14 May 2022 18:15

Mattia Binotto has warned Ferrari must quickly "understand" the gains made by rivals Red Bull in Miami.

The Scuderia had no answer for the race pace of Red Bull even after locking out the front row of the grid, with a lack of pace compared to its rivals on the medium compound tyre.

Ferrari had been strongest on low-speed traction out of corners across the first four races of the season but in Miami, Red Bull took the lead in this area.

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"We were running a bit more downforce in terms of wing configurations, lacking speed in the straights but normally gaining a bit more in the corners," said Binotto when explaining why the tables had turned.

“I think it has been the case here at corners five, six and seven. Maybe it was not the case in the very slow corners, 11, 12, and 13.

“The Red Bull has been very good in that respect. They have been very good, especially on the new tyres to be as fast as us, at least in the very slow-speed corners.

“The reason why is something we need to assess and understand and in part we believe it is because they have brought upgrades to the last races which have made their car simply faster.”

Verstappen "deserved" Miami win

Verstappen's Miami win saw him climb to the top step of the podium at consecutive races for the first time this year.

The result further shrunk Leclerc's championship lead to just 19 points but the Monégasque did not begrudge his rival the success as he reflected on his 'one chance' to pass.

"I took a bit too much kerb [at turn 14]. I think the lap before, Max hit it quite hard and it helped me to get close but I think with these cars, they are so big that five centimetres can make a huge difference there," said Leclerc.

“And especially the way the kerb is done, it is a very tricky part of the track and on that particular lap I overdid it but I actually didn’t lose that much compared to my previous lap so I was surprised.

“It was a big hit but I managed it quite well so it didn’t have any consequence on the opportunity for overtaking.

“I think there was one very good opportunity on the second lap after the safety car but there was no DRS.

“Apart from that, Red Bull deserved to win and Max deserved to win. He was a bit quicker than us here.”

Additional reporting by Ian Parkes