Mattia Binotto says it is a sign of the positive steps Ferrari has taken for the 2021 season that it was disappointed not to have at least one top 3 result on Sunday.
The Ferrari team boss spoke of his frustration at not seeing either Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz on the podium at Imola. The couple came home with a respectable P4 and P5 respectively.
Given the changing conditions at Scuderia’s first home race this season, Binotto was pleased with the way the car was able to adapt in difficult circumstances.
“We were able to achieve a good result under completely different conditions and on a completely different track than in Bahrain, which shows that we are going in the right direction,” said Binotto on SpeedWeek.
“Even the fact that we’re upset that we couldn’t get at least one driver on the podium confirms our progress. We can safely say that the first two races were positive, as we have not been able to celebrate both cars in the points twice in a row since 2019 in Japan and Mexico.
“We have to keep going and show in every race that we can improve.
“Mercedes and Red Bull Racing are still ahead and I don’t think that’s a surprise considering how strong they were last year.
“I’m happy with the progress we’ve made, but it will be a close battle against McLaren for third place in the team standings.
“As I have said many times, our goal is to improve in all areas and I think that can be done.”
So close to that first podium of 2021 …
Lots of encouraging signs from this weekend, we keep pushing for 
Next 
Portugal #essereFerrari 
#ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/h1sSLVGvMu
– Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 19, 2021
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Despite being disappointed with the straight-line speed of the car, Leclerc agrees with his team principal’s views and believes the Scuderia are right in the fight for a better spot in the team standings – having ended up outside the top 5 in the 2020 season, the constructors’ standings for the first time in 40 years.
“I think a realistic goal for this year is to be right behind Red Bull and Mercedes,” said Leclerc at the press conference before the race in Imola. “Realistically, they will be very difficult to fight with.
“We’re too far behind for the time being, but we’re fighting for third place in the constructors with four or five other teams. It will be a close battle, but if we do everything perfectly, it can be achieved.”
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