New Ferrari recruit Carlos Sainz was able to register points on his first race for the team. As a result of this, team principal Mattia Binotto said that the team will “finally be able to count on both” its drivers.
In what proved to be Sebastian vettel’s last year at Ferrari, the German managed only five double points-hauls in 17 races.
This was a far cry from Vettel’s previous exploits on the circuit. Not only did he suffer “psychologically” as a result of his predicament, the team also lost confidence in his abilities as a driver.
Charles Leclerc managed 98 points over the course of the season and Vettel was only able to accrue 33. It meant Ferrari had to settle for 6th spot in the constructors’ standings. Had he even equalled Leclerc’s tally, the team would have climbed up by two spots at the very least.
Vettel soon joined Aston Martin and Ferrari opted to replace him with Spaniard Carlos Sainz.
While Vettel had a disappointing start to life with his new team, Sainz showed that he can be consistent at this level. This is something Ferrari has been desperate for, according to Binotto.
He was candid in his thoughts over an interview with Sky Italia.
“I’m really happy with the drivers,” Binotto said.
“I’m happy to be able to count on both of them finally Carlos did a very good race with the pace. And then the motivation is important, the wish to grow as a team and not only with the drivers.
“Today was just the first race, they will understand where to improve. In this season we will not develop the car a lot, because we’re already focused on 2022.
“We will bring some upgrades, but it’s important that they work and they lead the car in the right direction.”
Binotto said that the primary reason to recruit Sainz was his consistency during races, regardless of performances during qualifying.
“We chose Carlos because we knew that he is strong during the race, he proved that today,” he said.
“He’s gaining confidence with the car, he’s settling in with the team very well, he’s working very well with Charles.
“Charles yesterday after the qualifying thanked Carlos for pushing him to do the best possible lap.
The Ferrari head once again reiterated that being able to count on both of his drivers was extremely important for the team.
“Knowing that we can count on both of them is really important,” he said.
“The most important thing is to be motivated to keep growing. Our opponents today are not Carlos for Charles and Charles for Carlos, but the cars ahead of us.
“The day when we will be ahead of all the other teams, our drivers will be allowed to fight also with each other.”