Binotto: I learned a lot from Michael Schumacher

In an interview with Bild am Sonntag, Scuderia boss Mattia Binotto acknowledged that cup winning weighs a lot, talked about the team’s chances of winning the championship and also what he learned from Michael Schumacher

Q: Do the muscles of your right arm hurt?
Mattia Binotto: What do you have in mind?

Q: After the first race of the season, you got to lift the cups that Ferrari won when your drivers gave the team a winning double. According to the results of the second race, the Scuderia took 2nd and 3rd place. But you haven’t been able to muster so many cups in a long time…
Mattia Binotto: Definitely, the cups turned out to be heavier than I expected! Although it is of course great that we succeeded again.

Q: Why did you decide to take the podium in Bahrain yourself and receive the Ferrari trophy? Was it some sort of sign for the team?
Mattia Binotto: I usually don’t do this, it’s not my style. I thought long and hard before doing this, but then I forced myself to climb the podium. Because I thought this was the best way to represent our team.

After all, if we send someone from the mechanics there or, for example, from the aerodynamics department, they only represent part of the team. But I wanted to show that this winning double belongs to all of us!

Q: Was it a spontaneous idea, or was everything planned in advance?
Mattia Binotto: I thought about it a week before the race and the decision was made after the Grand Prix finish.

Q: Your team stood in front of the podium with Ferrari flags and everyone sang the national anthem loudly. What did you think when you saw it?
Mattia Binotto: This gives extra motivation. Everyone at Ferrari was waiting for the new season, in preparation in which we have invested a lot of work and all our passion. We knew we had a good car, but it wasn’t clear until the first race how good it was. And the success brought real relief to everyone.

Q: How did you celebrate success?
Mattia Binotto: We got back to the hotel late and had to fly to Maranello early in the morning, so there was no time to celebrate our success. But when we delivered the won cups to the base of the team and saw the happy faces of all our employees, that was enough.

Q: In Saudi Arabia, Ferrari also fought at the forefront. Are you happy with the results of that race or are you still angry that you missed the win?
Mattia Binotto: First of all I have to say that everyone saw a beautiful spectacle that Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen gave us as they battled for the win. The result of the race was not what we wanted, but we were competitive again and that’s the most important thing. In two races we have earned 78 out of 88 possible points – this is certainly a lot, so we are happy.

Q: Before the start of the season, both you and the team tried to be humble and downplay the level of expectations. But after the winning double, Carlos Sainz said Ferrari is now at the level it should be. Are you ready to make the same statement?
Mattia Binotto: I don’t know if we’ve reached that level or not. But racing, racing and winning is in our DNA. That’s what we’re talking about. And we started the season with good results.

Q: Do these results allow us to say that you intend to fight for the championship win?
Mattia Binotto: We are able to fight for the win in every race.

Ask Ferrari by a big lead in both standings of the championship. Did you expect such a start to the season?
Mattia Binotto: We understand that our team has been working very hard during the preparation for the season. Of course we didn’t know exactly what we looked like against the background of rivals from other teams. It is simply impossible to foresee such a high result in the first race, because it is clear that the rivals are very strong.

In Bahrain we achieved the highest possible result and in Saudi Arabia it was confirmed that our car is competitive. But we also know what to focus on in the coming months.

Question: And on what?
Mattia Binotto: In the second half of the season, the modernization of the car will be of great importance. We are pleased to have started the championship well and are ready to fight for high results in every race, while clearly understanding that last year’s champions are still among the favourites.

Q: What do you consider to be Ferrari’s most important asset in the battle for championship victory?
Mattia Binotto: In Bahrain we won the winning double and in Saudi Arabia both Ferrari drivers climbed to the podium. We have a very strong team: Scuderia has excellent drivers, mechanics, engineers and many other specialists. We are currently in a very good position.

Q: They say you gained an advantage because other top teams started developing a new car earlier?
Mattia Binotto: No, this is a totally wrong assumption. According to the rules, all teams were not allowed to start working in the wind tunnel and on simulators until January 1, 2021. Maybe last year we were more involved in preparing for this season than others, but we started with all the teams at once. We just did well.

However, I don’t think we have any advantage over others. Who exactly managed to do that will only become clear after the first five races.

Q: You said Ferrari has a winning mentality. This is what has always distinguished Michael Schumacher, the seven-time world champion with whom you also had the opportunity to work…
Mattia Binotto: It was a fantastic time. I am proud to be associated with that glorious period. But it’s not just that. I learned a lot from Michael, first of all by adopting this attitude and ability to lead a team of his. I will never forget this.

Source: F1 News

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