Ferrari vying against McLaren for P3 in the constructors’ standings and thinks Mexico grants them a significant boost in the F1 battle.
Ferrari, at the start of 2021, aspired for the P3 in the constructors’ standings. But the only barrier to their objective is McLaren, who are currently 3.5 points ahead.
But with the recent engine upgrade, Ferrari has seen better power and can dominate over their rivals. Now, coming to Mexico, the Maranello based team claims that they have an edge as they will be running maximum downforce.
“In Mexico, we are running there with maximum downforce performance, and it is a track where power sensitivity is less important,” said Mattia Binotto.
“So although there is still a gap to Mercedes [in power terms], I think the Mexico track will be in our favour compared to what we saw in Austin.”
Also read: Mercedes AMG GTR Safety Car to make a return to Formula 1 at the Mexican Grand Prix
Ferrari overpowering McLaren in Austin was pumping
Binotto reckoned Ferrari outplaying McLaren in Austin was a significant achievement for them. On paper, McLaren with a Mercedes engine should have dominated, but Ferrari bagged more points.
“Generally speaking, this year the McLaren has been always very competitive with the medium/high speed corners, and again it was the case in Austin,” he said.
“But I think if I look at the overall performance of the weekend, we were ahead of them: which was very obvious in qualifying, and Charles [in the race] was half a second on average ahead of Ricciardo, finishing 25 seconds ahead of him.”
“In the overall balance of the lap. I think we have been clearly faster and, I think on paper, it was not a circuit which was suiting obviously our car.”
“That’s why I’m pleased with the progress I’ve seen in the last races, and certainly the help of the power unit, both for quali and the race. That gives me some confidence for the next races.”
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