Ferrari release statement on Vettel - Binotto meeting

Ferrari have released a statement explaining that Sebastian Vettel had a meeting with Mattia Binotto in Maranello following the Russian Grand Prix where he ignored team orders to swap places with Charles Leclerc.

Vettel overtook his teammate on the opening lap of the race in Sochi but was asked to let Leclerc by as part of their original strategy. Vettel refused, insisting Leclerc should catch up first. 

The German eventually retired with an engine problem but many have identified the tension amongst the Scuderia. In a statement, Ferrari revealed Vettel had a meeting with the team principal Binotto.

"Sebastian started the day with a positive and constructive meeting with Team Principal Mattia Binotto before joining the engineers,” the statement read as quoted by the Express.

"In the afternoon, it was time to get in the simulator cockpit for a session assessing the SF90 running in different track conditions.

However, Vettel played down the meeting revealing he was heading to Italy anyway.

“I was coming here anyway, it’s a shame I only make it so rarely but hopefully I can make it a bit more often,” Vettel told Ferrari’s YouTube channel.

“I would like to do more but obviously time, we have a lot of races as well but let’s see, maybe I need better organisation and come back to watch.”