Mattia Binotto is already putting the disappointment of the French Grand Prix behind him as his Scuderia Ferrari team turn their attention to the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend.
Charles Leclerc crashed out of the lead at the Circuit Paul Ricard on Sunday, and Binotto, the Team Principal at Ferrari, says there is little point in dwelling over the Monegasque driver’s mistake.
“There is no point on dwelling on Charles’ mistake,” said Binotto. “These things can happen, even to great drivers like him and together, we have already put it behind us.”
Despite losing a potential race win, Binotto says there are plenty of positives to take away from France, particularly the pace of the F1-75 throughout the weekend and the recovery drive of Carlos Sainz Jr.
Sainz started on the back row of the grid following grid penalties for unscheduled engine component changes, but he drove superbly to finish fifth, and but for a late pit stop for fresh tyres – Ferrari did not think his set of medium compound tyres would have lasted until the chequered flag – he could have even fought for a top three result.
“Although this result was far from the one we wanted, there are still some positives to take away from this race,” said Binotto. “First of all, the F1-75 was very competitive, even on this difficult Paul Ricard track.
“Carlos had a strong weekend, starting with qualifying, when he did what was required of him for the team. In the race, he was patient in the early stages and then made up places lap after lap, including some brilliant overtaking moves.
“Now we look ahead to Hungary where we want to fight for the win once again.”