The new Ferrari team-mates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will have the freedom to fight each other and have “equal chances” this season, says their boss Mattia Binotto …
Sainz joins Ferrari after two years at McLaren to replace Leclerc with four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who is tied to Aston Martin, and forms Ferrari’s youngest line-up since 1968.
READ MORE: Ferrari does a classic car test for Sainz, but no such luxury for Vettel or Ricciardo with their new teams
Ferrari has had a number-one and a number-2 driver strategy in the past, for example with Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Vettel was their main driver when Leclerc joined Leclerc, but Leclerc’s form resulted in them changing their strategy and letting them compete freely against each other.
And although Leclerc has a longer term contract and is a rising star on the team, he will not enjoy any preferential treatment compared to Sainz in order to achieve her goal.
READ MORE: Leclerc “very happy” with personal performance in 2020 despite Ferrari’s struggles
“There is nothing written in Charles’ contract [team] Leader, ”said Binotto. “The two will be free to fight on the track.
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“The important thing is that they don’t harm themselves, that’s clear, but I think they’ll have equal opportunities right at the start of the season.
“Our top priority, as I have said in the past and will remain, is optimizing the team’s points. So it may be that in some races it will be important that the two team decisions somehow support or accept team decisions in order to optimize the interests of the team.
“And I think that we will prevail through the team’s interest and also support the interests of the drivers.
READ MORE: “I have to choose my fights better” – Leclerc aims for improvements in Round 1 in 2021
“When later in the season there is a clear advantage of one driver over the other and one of the two drivers achieves a goal that is not possible for the other, I think there will be an open discussion between the two.
Leclerc took two podiums in 2020
“Then we want to see how we can help each other, but still to the benefit of the team. But optimizing the team points has top priority. “
READ MORE: Why Ferrari chose Sainz – and why he shouldn’t be cast as a wingman by Leclerc
Ferrari had its worst season in 40 years last season when they finished a low sixth in the constructors’ championship.
Can a revitalized line-up – which is allowed to go from bike to bike – help improve the jumping horse happiness this year? Sainz will certainly hope to make a difference and the Spaniard announced on Friday that he has started work at Maranello, including his first taste of the Ferrari simulator.
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