Ferrari chairman John Elkann has defended Mattia Binotto but acknowledged that the team needs improvement.
Despite having one of the quickest cars on the grid, Ferrari are currently 135 points behind Red Bull Racing in the Constructors’ Championship.
The Maranello-based outfit suffered from a mix of mechanical issues, controversial strategy calls, and driver errors on numerous occasions. It did not allow the team to convert the performance of the F1-75 car into consistently good results.
Ferrari and team principal Mattia Binotto have faced criticism throughout the year. Elkann defended Binotto but admitted that the team needs to improve.
“We have great faith in Mattia Binotto and appreciate everything he and all our engineers have done, but there is no doubt that the work in Maranello, in the garage, on the pit wall, and at the wheel needs to improve,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“We must continue to make progress and that goes for the mechanics, the engineers, the drivers, and obviously, the entire management team, including the team principal.
“We have seen that there are still too many mistakes when it comes to reliability, driving, and strategy.
“Putting our trust in Binotto and his team was the right decision and it has paid off. Thanks to them we are competitive and winning again. But I am not satisfied because I think we can always do better.”
