Mattia Binotto, the director of Ferrari, is not worried to have seen Red Bull and Sergio Pérez take pole position, 25 thousandths of a second ahead of Charles Leclerc. The Scuderia do not underestimate Pérez or the RB18 and also expected to see Max Verstappen at this level.
“Sergio is still a good driver. He is very fast and has a very good race pace, so starting on pole he can clearly do that” note Binotto. “They have a great car, so it’s not necessarily a surprise for us.”
“Obviously we were maybe expecting Max to be fast, but overall it’s a good fight and a good challenge. It’s great to be there with them to fight for pole and , personally, I’m happy with our second and third places.”
Binotto knows that the race will be long in Saudi Arabia and that the potential twists will have to be managed well: “I think the race will be interesting for all of us, and anything can happen here in Jeddah. Red flags, safety cars…it can be a gamble.”
“At the end of the day, it’s regarding staying focused, trying to make the most of the opportunities, and seeing how the race is going to end. I’m glad that following Bahrain, we’re once once more competitive here. and show that the car is great, and that the drivers can do well.”
