Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto says he expects to see far fewer mistakes from his team in 2021, outlining the challenges facing the Scuderia this year. Ferrari head into 2021 coming off the back of a very disappointing 2020 campaign. Having challenged for World Championships in most recent seasons, 2020 saw the team slip back to finish P6 in the Constructor’s Championship with no victories and just two podium finishes.
2021, the last year of the current technical regulations, sees the team continue to work with a car fundamentally similar to last year’s. The SF1000 struggled for speed, mostly due to a weak engine, but the team has higher hopes for the evolution of that car. The SF21 will be revealed to the world on March 10th.
Speaking at the team’s launch event for 2021 on Friday, team boss Mattia Binotto spoke of feeling the pressure to bounce back from such a poor season and of feeling the responsibility to start leading his team back to the front: “I’ve been a Ferrari fan since I was a child. I, along with Carlos and Charles, must make the supreme effort. We’re part of a team that counts more than any of us singularly. We have inherited this enormous, exciting passion and we have recently had disappointments that must not be repeated.”
“Our duty is clear: we must represent and honour the Ferrari flag – it is a symbol of outstanding Italian excellence. I realise that in every competition there can be mistakes – I expect less mistakes, very few, or none. I expect to see quality and a healthy, joyful competiveness.”
Outlining some of the challenges the team faces this year, Binotto said “2021 is going to be a very important year, full of challenges.”
“First of all, the car – the SF21, which has inherited much from its predecessor , and then the budget cap for the first time we have a limit on spending. We must face these challenges with determination, along with our new driver line-up.”
“In addition, the 2022 car must be planned from scratch, since it will be completely new, in its design and its technical features. The path that lies before us is long and full of obstacles. It’s entirely possible that there will be setbacks and mistakes. Some of them are inevitable, others are intolerable. The important thing for us is that any weak spot becomes an opportunity for our team to improve, with the right spirit. ”
