Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said that his team will not shy away from copying their competitor’s innovation.
It’s been a rough couple of years for the Ferrari team. However last year they managed to finish the season in third place in the constructors’ championship.
With the new technical regulations, the 2022 cars that have been revealed so far already look way more advanced. The new regulations mean that every team in the paddock will start from zero and the developments would be aggressive in the first five to six races.
While some teams will be ahead in the game, other teams might interpret the regulations in the wrong way. With only two more teams remaining to reveal their cars, Ferrari has made it clear that it will be more important than ever to look at the competitors’ innovations.
Team principal Mattia Binotto even said that the Italian team will not hesitate from copying some of the competitor’s works.
Binotto said, “I think that the first tests and the first Grands Prix will tell us how well we have done. I also think that it will be very important at the beginning of the season to understand the behaviour of these cars, to adapt, to correct, and possibly even to copy.”
“I think that when you look at a new regulation, there may be concepts that have been different in other teams.”
“Good solutions – we will have to be able to observe, to copy if needed, and to introduce as soon as possible. So I think there will be a lot of development at the beginning. There will be a lot of relative performance from team to a team that could change.”
“So it’s not for sure that the fastest car at the beginning can be the fastest car after five or six races. I think that this beginning of the season is going to be kind of important for the rest.”
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Ferrari is beautiful but it doesn’t mean it’ll be fast
Furthermore, Binotto also snubbed the predictions of other team bosses and fans. When Binotto was told that many believe that Ferrari is among the favourites to win this year, he replied, “I don’t think we are the favourites.”
“On the contrary, I think we are not the world champions at the moment. There are others who won the championship last year. Both drivers and constructors, and those teams who fought last year for the best result were somehow very strong compared to us. They finished the season with a nice advantage.”
“It shows that they are very strong teams. If they have been strong in the past, there is no reason why they shouldn’t be strong in the present or in the future. So I expect Mercedes and Red Bull to be the favourites again.”
“They are the favourites. They are the ones with the number one on the car and otherwise, we can be challengers in a way.”
“Why do the others think we are the favourites? First of all, I think it’s to take some pressure off themselves. But I’m sorry. They have to keep the pressure. On our side, it’s true, it’s a beautiful car. But I don’t think the fact that it’s beautiful means it will be fast.”
