Mattia Binotto has called on his Ferrari team to respond with Red Bull building up a head of steam in recent races.
The Scuderia and the Bulls are having their own exclusive fight out in front this season in Formula 1, and that was again underlined on Sunday at the Miami Grand Prix, with them occupying the top four spots in both qualifying and the race.
Indeed, the two teams are the ones to beat at the moment but, within their private scrap, it currently looks like Red Bull might actually have the momentum.
The Milton Keynes-based team has won the last two races with Max Verstappen at the wheel and he has chipped away at Charles Leclerc's lead in the Drivers' standings, whilst it is apparent that in a straight line the Ferrari has a deficit in terms of raw speed compared to the Red Bull.
Binotto has called on the team to try and respond, then, and will be hoping that that can happen as early as the Spanish Grand Prix next weekend:
"We can’t be completely happy with today’s race because, although the F1-75 was competitive, our rivals were a few tenths per lap quicker than us," Binotto said via the official F1 website.
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA - MARCH 27: Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Second placed Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Ferrari talk in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on March 27, 2022 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
“If you consider how many points we are taking home from here, we can’t be too disappointed, given that we are leading both championships, but it’s clear we now need to respond. We are keen to get the job done and there are still a lot of races to go.
“It’s true that Red Bull improved their car, improved it since the very start of the season. If I looked at the last two races, maybe they got a couple of tenths per lap faster to us. It’s no doubt that in order to keep the pace we will need to develop ourselves with new upgrades.”
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