Max Verstappen has been warned Red Bull does not have a faster car than Ferrari despite his title advantage over Charles Leclerc. Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto claims the Prancing Horse is the “same speed as Red Bull” and is “within a tenth” on track.
He suggested Red Bull did have the faster package at the start of the year and Ferrari had only closed the gap with new upgrades. Speaking to Auto Motor Und Sport, Binotto said: “We have practically the same speed as Red Bull.
“We are within a tenth of a second of each other. You cannot say that one car is better than the other. There are tracks that suit us better, and tracks where Red Bull is ahead of us.
“In the end, it is the set-ups, the track conditions and the form of the drivers that are the decisive factors on Sunday. At the start of the season, Red Bull were better and they had a rear wing that was more efficient when the DRS was activated. We reduced our deficit with a new rear wing.”
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Verstappen enjoys a commanding 80-point lead over Leclerc in the drivers’ championship with just nine races to go.
The advantage means the Dutchman can afford to retire from three races and still be ahead in the standings.
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However, Binotto has claimed Ferrari could have won at least eight Grands Prix this season had it not been for issues.
He also rued the Scuderia’s mechanical failures for coming at moments where victories were within their grasp, unlike Red Bull. Binotto explained: “Red Bull is indeed more efficient.
“Out of 13 races we have only won four, but that could have been eight without our problems. Red Bull also suffered from reliability problems, but they were never in the lead when they retired.