Results down to work conducted at Maranello last night – Binotto

F1 Grand Prix, GP Turkey, Istanbul Park

Ferrari worked tirelessly overnight to get on top of the warm-up issues that hindered its chances in yesterday’s qualifying session, said Team Principal Mattia Binotto.

Despite delivering promising pace both on dry and damp track in the practice sessions, Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel were caught by surprise when they failed to keep up with the pace of their rivals in the qualifying session. However, Scuderia’s drivers bounced back in today's challenging Istanbul race to collect the biggest point haul for the fabled Maranello-based outfit in 2020.

Team Principal Mattia Binotto explained that the improved pace was down to the work conducted by the engineers who worked tirelessly back at the factory to find remedy to the warm-up issues that meant that the SF1000 lacked the necessary grip. The Swiss-Italian who stayed at Maranello to focus on the intense development programme Ferrari is conducting was delighted to see his team react on the issues.

"After a very difficult Saturday, it's great to end up as the team that scored the most points on Sunday. We knew that, in these conditions the race would come to those who made the fewest mistakes.

„Overall, as a team, we did a good job, particularly in terms of strategy. We made brave choices at the right time. It’s also worth noting that we might have done even better, getting both drivers on the podium. Overnight, we worked very hard at the track and back in Maranello to work out why we hadn’t got the tyres to work yesterday and today, that collective effort paid off, as could be seen with both the wets and the intermediates.”

Vettel scored his first podium in 2020 in a season that has been arguably his most difficult year in Formula One. Prior to the Turkish Grand Prix, the German achieved his best result at the Hungarian Grand Prix where he finished in the sixth position.

„It’s particularly pleasing that Sebastian finally got into the top three,” said Binotto. „He drove a very strong race, especially that fantastic start. Charles was very quick for long parts of the race. If it had not been for the start and that final slip on the last lap, he would have finished second, but he still had a great race.”

Despite collecting 27 points at the Turkish Grand Prix, Ferrari stayed in the sixth position in the Constructors’ Championship. The Italian squad closed in on the fifth-placed Renault, but its disadvantage to the third-placed Racing Point is still 24 points which will be a big ask from the Maranello-based team to close in in the remaining three races.

„We’ve made up a bit of ground in the Constructors’ classification, but the gap to those ahead of us is still significant. Here in Istanbul, we confirmed that we have been making progress since Monza and we want to continue doing that in the final three races of the year in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.

„Finally, I wish to congratulate Lewis for this very well deserved Drivers’ title, which means he equals the number held by Michael Schumacher,” Binotto concluded.