“The gap to the other power units have become smaller” – Ferrari F1 boss Mattia Binotto expressed delight after both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc beat Alpine in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Ferrari has definitely made inroads in improving its engine and reliability, going by their pre-season and race weekend performance at Bahrain. The former had pleased team principal Mattia Binotto, who had complimented Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc for working well with the car.
“Now if I look at the data, I think at least on the speed, on the straight, the speed is alright. There does not seem to be such a disadvantage as it was last year.
“We know it’s not only power, but it’s also a drag of the car as well, as we often said last year. But let me say that both [drivers] contributed to improving our speed on the straights. Today we feel it is not anymore a disadvantage.”
Ferrari > Renault at Bahrain Grand Prix
Ferrari had finished P6 as the works team last season, with Haas and Alfa Romeo finishing only above Williams in the Constructors Standings. This time around, Ferrari look better than Renault in the PU department, but it’s still early days.
“The gap to the other power units has become smaller. Next year I think we will have a strong power unit again. But the differences are getting smaller and smaller. We are working in the right direction with the right tools. That makes me optimistic for the future.
“The car is better than last year, there is no doubt about that. The aerodynamics are certainly better, we can see that in the correlation. And we have also improved the power unit within the limits of what was possible.”
