Binotto: Ferrari will favour the most experienced driver

The Reds are in dire straits at this stage with a race car that is no match to Mercedes, while Red Bull with Honda power are shoulder-to-shoulder with the Italian team and in forthcoming races may edge ahead in the pecking order.

However, the biggest challenge facing Maranello F1 chief Binotto is what to do about his two drivers who are working within a strange impasse which is negatively impacting the team's results and could also be a reason for mistakes being made by their drivers and strategists.

At this stage, Vettel has the upper hand in the team due to his experience. On the other side of the garage Leclerc is the real deal and clearly anxious to show what he can do but, at the same time, the team need to keep harmony between the pair as they seek to eke out more performance from their increasingly suspect SF9o package.

In an interview with BBC, Binotto explained "To win or to create a great group with a winning mentality, you need stability first as well as serenity. And it is only by creating an internal and mutual trust that you can achieve it."

"It is really a matter of trying to build the right spirit in the team, with the right objectives, which are to be ambitious. We are not here just trying to participate."

Ironically, as the team seek the Valhalla of performance and driver harmony the pair are making errors which have been exacerbated by dubious strategy calls from a red pitwall.

While Vettel's mistakes are always well documented, it must be noted that Leclerc has had his own share of errors, the most glaring when he pranged during Baku qualifying.

The reason why Leclerc, to his detriment, has been used to cover for Vettel was explained by Binotto, "Our first objective is to maximise the team points, and to do that, knowing we have two fantastic drivers but with two different levels of experience, I think what we did was all right."

"If there are any decisions that need to be taken in some circumstances, they should be in the favour of the most experienced driver. That's it."

The thinking at the Scuderia is that Vettel with his four titles, 52 Grand Prix victories and over a dozen years in the top flight is the obvious driver to back for a title tilt, while Leclerc is expected to learn and play ball until he can beat Vettel on a regular basis.

"Seb is a fantastic driver. He has been four-times world champion. I believe that if he is comfortable and he has serenity in his mind, he can deliver well. It is not a matter of being the number one driver. It is team interest first."

In Bahrain, Leclerc had the edge over Vettel in both quali and race but a bad start meant he had to play catch-up. He did so admirably but was told to hold station behind his teammate at that point of the race, a command the 21-year-old ignored.

Asked why the Ferrari strategists instructed Leclerc to hold station in Bahrain when he was clearly faster than his teammate, Binotto explained, "In those laps when Charles was catching up, Sebastian was managing his tyres and his fuel and he was not somehow pushing to the limit. So we said: OK, give him a couple of laps, try to settle his pace and let's see."

"But Charles was fast enough without waiting to overtake him, and finally we are happy with what happened because, in the end, we would not have restrained Charles from overtaking if he had been faster in the following laps."

As for the disobeyed team orders, the team boss revealed, "We discussed that all together with Charles, together with Seb. He disobeyed, yes, but he overtook with no risk."

"But more than that, he was quite disciplined because he first came on the radio when closing the gap on Seb and asked: What should I do? I was happy about that."

"So he recognised the team interest, but also that at that specific moment he was faster on the straight and he had the opportunity. So it is fine. We understand these situations. In this circumstance, he was fast enough to overtake and maybe it was more the mistake on our side to wait to overtake for a couple of laps."

While Vettel's mistakes grab headlines, media have been soft on Leclerc and his mistakes as he settles into the most famous team on the planet and the realities that come from driving in the relative obscurity of Sauber last year to the white-hot spotlight shining constantly on Ferrari where he is now plying his trade.

Binotto acknowledged, "For a driver in a Ferrari, anyway it is a lot of pressure especially if you are a rookie. The only thing we always tell Charles, and I think that is the way to approach it, is he has to be focused on himself first because I think there is still much for him to experience and learn and I am pretty sure that this season in that respect will be very useful."

"He is very fast, even surprisingly very fast in the start of the season. But more than that, he is a very mature driver. He is a hard worker, he is really working very well with the engineers. He has got a lot of, let me say, desire to perform well and that is something on which we are very happy."

As for the Monaco Kid challenging his German teammate, Binotto said, "If there will be a time where Charles is consistently quicker or is quicker, there will be no discussions, because he will simply be ahead."

"Sebastian is an experienced driver, if that would be the case, I think he would put maximum effort himself to improve and understand where are his limitations. So, in the end, it's a good benchmark for both of them. I would prefer to have such a problem than not," added Binotto.

https://www.grandprix247.com/2019/05/15/its-official-ferrari-are-in-crisis/