Uplifting words for Sainz from Binotto: "He will come out stronger"

For Carlos Sainz it was a weekend to forget quickly. During qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, an ill-timed red flag prevented him from moving beyond ninth place, and in Sunday's race, he found himself stuck in the gravel in the opening stages. Mattia Binotto is lenient on the Spaniard.

According to the team boss, a podium for Sainz would not have been inconceivable if he had been able to finish the race. The Ferrari's speed was impressive and with Sainz's DNF the Maranello based racing team missed out on expensive points for the constructors' championship.

Confidence in comeback Sainz

"You have to be perfect, he had to deal with circumstances that didn't help him. He certainly could have started in the top four, psychologically it doesn't help what he went through in qualifying and then there was the mistake in the race, but I know him, he will learn from everything and come out stronger. In Imola he will be able to make up for it," Binotto is quoted by La Gazzetta Dello Sport.

In Melbourne, Ferrari once again managed to outrun Red Bull Racing in the championship. Where Charles Leclerc is now 34 points ahead of number two George Russell, Ferrari itself is 39 points clear of Mercedes. It's a nice statistic, but in Maranello, they don't place a lot of value on it. "We are not thinking about the world championship yet because only three races have passed. We focus on every race, that's what we've done so far and that's how we'll continue to do it," the top executive concludes.