Binotto sees confirmation in Ferrari's excellent Friday at Imola

Friday in Imola offered few real surprises, but if there is one team that may have performed better than previously thought, it is Ferrari. Of course, it could be that they were looking to steal the show at home, but if this was any indication of their true speed, they are in for a good time this weekend.

In Bahrain it became clear that Ferrari has made big steps compared to 2020. Compared to the faster 2020 cars they lost the least time. Well people will say that given their dramatic season last year this isn't that difficult and team boss Mattia Binotto is the first to agree.

"We have often said that our performance last year was not acceptable for the Ferrari brand," Binotto is quoted as saying by Motosport-Total.com. He also admits that the speed during the race in Bahrain still left something to be desired, which prevented Charles Leclerc from maintaining his fourth starting position.

Binotto says progress has already been made on tyre management since then and the fact that Ferrari managed to present themselves as the fastest team behind Mercedes and Red Bull Racing on Friday bodes well for the rest of the weekend. "We now know that we can be there every weekend," Binotto said with relief.