Ferrari is bursting with confidence after finishing third in the constructors’ championship in 2021, ahead of rival McLaren. But team boss Mattia Binotto admitted that P3 was not their “final goal” as Scuderia wants to return to winning ways in 2022.
Carlos Sainz scored 323.5 points in his first year at Ferrari along with Charles Leclerc in 2021 when the Italian team led the midfield. And Binotto admitted in Abu Dhabi that while the result wasn’t the team’s ultimate goal, it was definitely an important step in the right direction after Ferrari finished a low 6th place in 2020.
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“Our goals, at least explained at the beginning of the year [2021]”We wanted to try to improve in all areas, in every single detail,” said Binotto. “We didn’t set ourselves third place as our ultimate goal; we have always said that third will be the easy result if you try to do well now as a team and in terms of team performance.
“Finishing third … is encouraging because it is a statement that somehow the team has progressed and is going in the right direction.”
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021: “Smooth Operator” Sainz back on the podium in Abu Dhabi
Binotto added that the result of the constructors’ championship has prepared Scuderia well for winter as it tries to catch up with front-runners Red Bull and Mercedes in a 2022 season in which Formula 1 will go through one of the most significant regulatory changes of all time.
“I think [the result] gives us a little serenity even through the winter, which is important … because of what we will face in 2022, which is a completely new challenge, a very difficult one.
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“And I think, just to have confidence in the work we’ve done so far, to know that we’re still very far apart from the very best; there are two competitors in front of us who are very, very strong and we have a car. ”which is still not good enough and shows that there is still a lot of progress to be made as a team.
Ferrari took five podiums in 2021
“[But] Third place is somehow important for calmness and shows the team performance so far, “concluded the Ferrari boss.
Ferrari will embark on the new era of F1 and seek its first victory in the sport since Sebastian Vettel won the Singapore Grand Prix in 2019.
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