F1 News

Binotto after victory at Monza: "Went to Seb first, seemed important to me"

12 April 2020 at 08:36
  • GPblog.com

For Ferrari it was a great victory at Monza but also a weekend with two extremes. Charles Leclerc won in one Ferrari while the second driver made mistakes in the other Ferrari.

Sebastian Vettel had a bad race at Monza last year while his team mate rightly got all the credit from the fans for giving Ferrari a victory in their home race. Vettel spun early in the race and returned dangerously to the track. Stroll had to avoid him and the German was punished. A thirteenth place was the end result.

Mattia Binotto announced in a video conversation with Will Buxton, via the Youtube channel of Formula 1, that he went to Vettel first after Leclerc's victory. Congratulations from Leclerc came later, although he had already done so over the radio.

"First I went to Seb (Vettel), that seemed important to me. He also drove fast so it could have been a nice race for him. The podium would have been possible. It was important to stay close to him."

Leclerc


Shortly after, the team boss went to Leclerc. Binotto was very happy for the young Ferrari driver. "Then I went to Charles. He was the youngest Ferrari driver who ever won a race for Ferrari, at Spa. Then a win at Monza, eight days later. That was fantastic, he was very happy. A moment you won't forget soon."

For Binotto it was his first victory over Monza as team boss. That makes it special even though the former engineer knows how to put it into perspective. "It was a great emotion, and every time I think about it, it's nice. Winning at Monza is always nice when you work for Ferrari, that was it years ago when we won with Michael Schumacher," concludes the Italian.