After disappointing Friday & Saturday, Ferrari secured surprise podium in the form of Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque man drove great race to secure unexpected podium for Italian team.
Four time champion Sebastian Vettel, struggled to keep his unstable SF1000 on the track. After disappointing spin while chasing Sainz, The German was able to secure P10 position and score 1 crucial championship point.Strangely this is first P10 finish for Sebastian Vettel in his 14 years of F1 career.
Given Ferrari’s pace on Friday & Saturday, Ferrari is lucky to come away with 19 points and Third in Constructors standings on Sunday.
Sebastian Vettel’s post-race comments
“It was a disappointing race for me, even if we knew beforehand it would be tough. I struggled for the entire race, already after the first two laps, just as I had done in quali. The balance and speed I had on Friday just slipped away from us and I was really struggling to keep the car on track. So now we have to try and find out why in the hope of doing better next weekend.”
Charles Leclerc post-race comments
“The team did a fantastic job, both in terms of strategy and with the car itself. We knew we had to make the best of it today. I told myself that we had to take any opportunity we had and that’s the way I drove. I am very happy with the result – we didn’t expect to finish in second place.
While it was great to start off the season with a podium, we cannot ignore the fact that we aren’t where we want to be in terms of performance. We were lucky this weekend, with safety cars and retirements mixing things up, but we can’t expect to fight for the win at these next few races.
We have to stay motivated and I am sure that the whole factory is working very hard to bring us back stronger. And that’s the spirit we need to remain focused on our targets.”
Mattia Binotto comments on Ferrari’s race results
“A really busy weekend ended with a result that far exceeded our expectations going into this race, especially after the way qualifying went. Charles drove an amazing race, fighting like a lion from the first to the last lap and making the most of every opportunity that came his way. Today’s second place is mainly down to him. At least Sebastian managed to get back in the points, but he struggled more than his team-mate with the balance of the car and now we have to work out why and in time for next weekend.
The 19 points we picked up here in Spielberg were also down to reliability, which is always vital, as well as the work the team has done here at the track and back in Maranello over this past week. However, it does not make up for the fact that, in pure performance terms, we are behind, more than we could legitimately have expected.
That’s why we are pushing as hard as we can to bring updates to the car as soon as possible, although we know that no package can be a magic wand that radically changes the hierarchy among the teams. Having said that, we have seen in this first race that a few tenths more or less can make a big difference in terms of grid position, so we must leave no stone unturned.”
