Binotto: Ferrari's upswing in form encouraging for 2021 hopes

The Italian squad faced a difficult start to this season, with its SF1000 down on power compared to last year and its chassis lacking aero efficiency.

It launched a two-probe attack in its bid to return to competitiveness; readying an all-new engine on the dyno at its Maranello factory and also focusing on car changes to address its aero weaknesses.

While the dyno work will only be shown in public once 2021 testing starts, a raft of aero changes to its SF1000 to overcome its deficiencies has paid off with the team now back in the fight for podium finishes.

At the recent Turkish Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel finished third, while teammate Charles Leclerc’s fourth place also meant Ferrari scored more points than any other team in the race.

Binotto, who elected to work remotely from Maranello rather than travel to Turkey, believes that the upswing in form that Ferrari has delivered proves that the team can eke out more speed from its current car even though F1’s chassis rules are frozen in to 2021.

“It’s obviously very important for Ferrari doing well at the moment,” he said. “We know that we have improved the car and, if you look at the last races, we improved our position in the race.

“I think the car has become more consistent and the car has become a bit faster. So it’s great, at least, to have those results, because I think it’s great for next year. It’s great looking ahead as well to the next races.

“I think that as well in terms of constructor positions, it’s not the end of the championship, so it’s encouraging.

“The people are working hard back at home trying to understand the weaknesses of the car and trying to address them. And especially, as we are preparing for next season, those results somehow are encouraging ourselves.”

But although the Turkey result has pointed to Ferrari performance gains, there remains some caution that the team’s form at Istanbul was flattered by the tricky track conditions.

The low-grip asphalt in the dry, plus the rain that marred running on Saturday and Sunday, meant the form book was slightly different to a more normal dry weekend.

Vettel believed that Turkey put more emphasis on driver ability than when things are dry and car performance becomes more important again.

“I think the truth is that you have more ability to make a difference in those conditions, because it's so slippery and so much on edge,” he said.

“You're still depending on if you get the tyres in the right window, and how the car works. But let's say there's more room for yourself to be expressed.”