It was clear to Ferrari that both drivers were on an equal footing throughout 2021, and team orders were only imposed to seize the team’s prospects amid the intense battle with McLaren for third place in the Constructors’ Championship in which it eventually prevailed.
Sainz and Leclerc were close together throughout the season, with Sainz leading the drivers’ standings by five and a half points. At the beginning of the season, Binotto had described his team’s line-up as the best in Formula 1.
Binotto confirmed Ferrari won’t have number one drivers in 2022.
“As far as the drivers are concerned, as we have often said, it will dictate the route,” said Binotto.
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“The priority is always the team, but if they can fight for an important position in the championship, it will be the track that shows who is ahead.
“Sometimes it’s not just about driver talent and driver capacity – a driver can be unlucky and have damage, reliability problems or accidents.
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“We’re not going to have number one and number two policies. We’ll just discuss it in terms of positions along the way whenever the time comes. ”
Although he was beaten by Sainz in his first year as a team-mate, Binotto emphasized that he was “very happy” with Leclerc’s performance throughout the season and pointed out that the Monegasque lost around 40 points due to bad luck.
“I think he was always kind of very quick in qualifying, even in the last part of the season when Carlos may have challenged him a little more,” said Binotto.
“I think we shouldn’t forget that there are some examples during the season, Monaco and Budapest, where he didn’t score. I think he was unlucky as a driver on these occasions.
“Without them, and it’s hard to say where he would have ended up, but maybe he’s missing at least 40 points from his score. Without that, in my opinion, he would have been much further up in the championship.
“That’s why I can only judge his season very positively again. He has also learned to deal with the tires, with the racing situations and the racing pace. So I’m very happy with the progress he’s made. “
