Binotto says Red Bull is still the favorite: 'They are the champions'

Mattia Binotto believes that Red Bull Racing remains the big favorite for this year's Formula One championship, despite Ferrari's double win at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Ferrari opened the season with a victory for the first time since 2018. However, Charles Leclerc was put under enormous pressure by reigning world champion Max Verstappen, especially after the first pit stops.

Binotto wary of Red Bull

Binotto does not yet want to say whether Ferrari is actually a title contender. According to the Ferrari team boss, four or five races will pass before that becomes clear. He also expects Red Bull Racing to have something up their sleeve. "The others have proven to be strong in qualifying, it was really a matter of pace," he says according to Crash.net.

The Ferrari boss therefore suspects that Red Bull could have been stronger during the race if the team had not run into problems. "Otherwise they would have been very fast," Binotto continued. "We should not forget that they are the world champions and the favourites and what we must try to do is do our best." He also warns that Jeddah could present a "very different picture."