Nobody is questioning the legality of Mercedes” – Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto supports innovation as the beauty of F1 after sidepod saga
Nobody is questioning the legality of Mercedes” – Ferrari team Mattia Binotto also expects them to give strong competition to Mercedes and Red Bull.
Mercedes’ sidepods were a big issue during Bahrain testing, with Red raising questions over its slim design. But Ferrari doesn’t seem to be having too many issues with it.
The whole paddock checking out mercedes sidepods like#F1Testing 🇧🇭 pic.twitter.com/9gPg7vVDxz
— Sir Lewis Hamilton Updates (@SirLewisUpdates) March 10, 2022
Mattia Binotto supports innovation, as it facilitates competition between teams despite rigid, stringent rules. He gave the example of the mirrors used by Mercedes, which assist in aerodynamics. It has received the green light from FIA’s head of single-seater matters Nikolas Tombazis.
“Already in the past, we always argued the mirrors should not have any aero purpose. They should be there just to look behind.
“Nobody is questioning the legality of the Mercedes solutions, for example the mirror, but I give a simple example.
“In 2018 we had fitted mirrors linked to the Halo, a solution that as the regulations were written was legal, but two races later a new technical directive from the FIA forced us to remove them because they would have had a non-incidental aerodynamic influence.
“This is the principle I underline, the FIA has the authority to clarify and I am curious to see how the situation will evolve on this occasion. More than protests, I expect clarification.
“I was surprised to see so many differences between the cars in terms of geometry. We knew there was the flexibility to make different choices, we tried many ourselves, I expected more convergence and was surprised to see so many different solutions. I think that’s good, that’s the beauty of this sport.
About the author
-
Tejas Venkatesh •
“That cost Lewis Hamilton the 8th championship”: Ted Kravitz takes a stand against former race director for his $4 million loss to Lewis Hamilton
-
Somin Bhattacharjee •
Kelly Piquet May Have Accidentally Revealed the Gender of Her and Max Verstappen’s Unborn Baby
-
Somin Bhattacharjee •
“Now it’s about keeping the ‘Number 1’ on the car long term”: Max Verstappen on what he aims to achieve with Red Bull after penning bumper contract extension
-
Anirban Aly Mandal •
Threat of Charles Leclerc Sending Lewis Hamilton Into Retirement ‘Very Big’, Says Ralf Schumacher
-
Somin Bhattacharjee •
Lewis Hamilton on Why He Isn’t Happy With Mercedes’ Upgrades Despite Getting Closer to Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen
-
Samriddhi Jaiswal •
F1 Driver Numbers 2023: Full List of Driver Numbers in Formula 1 and Why They Chose It
