Binotto: 'We have the best drivers in F1'

Ferrari enters the final phase of the season with the seemingly impossible task of still overtaking Max Verstappen. Yet Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto believes they have lived up to their goal of becoming competitive, and that it certainly cannot be down to the drivers.

A championship title looks set to become practically impossible for Ferrari this season. Verstappen's lead over Charles Leclerc is now so large that the Dutchman could secure the title as early as this weekend. In the constructors, the Italian team has to look more backwards than forwards.

The start looked promising. Technical defects in Red Bull Racing's cars and a strong performance from both Ferrari drivers gave the Italian team a 46-point lead after the first race, but that lead increasingly disappeared over the course of the season, to the point where Verstappen alone now has almost as many points as the entire Ferrari team.

"We have the best duo in F1"

For Ferrari, then, reason enough to scratch behind the ears. At a sporting event in Trento last weekend, the necessary problems were analysed, but there is one thing team boss Binotto sees no problem with: his two drivers.

"I say it and repeat it: we have the best duo in F1. They get along well and contribute well to the team. They both know that improving our car and our team means growing to beat the others."

For Binotto, the main goal of this season was to become competitive again, and he feels he has certainly achieved that. However, he also acknowledges that there are definitely steps to be taken before they truly belong at the top again.