“We’ve certainly improved there”–Ferrari’s improvement in pitstops have made them a better team on the track, claims Mattia Binotto.
Last year, Ferrari had one of the worst seasons ever; the only problem was not the lack of pace in the car but also failed strategies and blunders in the pitstops.
However, this year, Ferrari’s boss Mattia Binotto has claimed that his team needs to improve in all areas, including pitstops, though he also remarks that his team has already seen a significant improvement in it.
“Our objective was to improve in all the areas in 2021,” he said. “As an example, the pitstops. I always consider a good pitstop below 3s. That may sound a high number but in strategy, it’s more important to be consistent, not only fast.”
“Because what is destroying a race is sometimes a problem, and you are stopped for 4.5s or 5s or 6s. 84% of our stops this year have been below 3s. Last year 48%. Pit crew, mechanics – we’ve certainly improved there.
“Last year we were eighth in the pit stops by this measure. Today we are P2, with only one team [Red Bull] doing better than us. As a team and a car, there are improvements and the direction is encouraging.”
“There are still gaps to the best but that 0.7s deficit is not from any single area but is a sum – of aerodynamics, power unit, overall systems. I don’t think we are lacking only in one area – which is good because that would mean you need to recover a lot in that single area. Which can be more difficult.”
Upto 60% deficit can be closed with new upgrades in the power unit
Binotto also talked about the deficit Ferrari faced in the initial part of the season and points out that 60% of it is because of the power unit and 40% because of the chassis, but a significant portion is about to be closed.
“In the ’21 regulations say you may have a brand new PU in ’21,” he explained, “so it means you may bring an update in all the components – ICE, turbo, batteries, MGU-H, MGU-K, electronics – but with what we made at the start of the season we didn’t complete the full development.
“There are still parts on it from last year. We will bring an evolution to those which will be a significant step for the end of the season and gaining experience for ‘22.”
