Binotto not afraid of "losing control" of his drivers amidst rivalry

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto is confident he won't "lose control" over his two drivers Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc despite the duo's intense rivalry in recent races.

The two drivers have been arguing back and forth quite often during the Russian and Singapore Grand Prix, with Vettel performing an undercut on Leclerc in Singapore and the German also overtaking his Monegasque teammate at the start of the Russian Grand Prix after getting a slipstream into turn 2.

When Vettel was instructed to let Leclerc past he refused, saying the 21-year-old would have to catch him first as he was three seconds behind. Ferrari then opted to pit Leclerc first and left Vettel out for several laps so Leclerc would get past via undercut.

"I don’t think there is the risk of losing control because there is a difference between not managing drivers and at least having the intent to manage them," Binotto countered when asked if he was afraid of losing control amidst the rivalry between his drivers.

"There is always a solution which is not manage them, maybe someone may do so, I think our intention is to try to manage the situation to the benefit of the team and secondly to the benefit, overall, as well, of the drivers.

"We may do a few things that can be addressed or improved and I think that is what we are building and trying to do for the future."