Mattia Binotto ‘deeply sorry’ as Ferrari’s Austin struggles continue

Ferrari’s slump showed no sign of easing in Austin, where both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were left well off the pace, prompting Autosprint to declare: “Austin is throwing reality in Ferrari’s face.”

The Maranello outfit again struggled for outright performance, with Leclerc and Hamilton only just managing to stay inside the top ten at the Circuit of the Americas. Hamilton admitted the eight-tenths gap to the front in sprint qualifying was “huge,” while Leclerc told Sky Italia he doubted there was a quick fix.

“I'd be surprised if we find a solution that allows us to make a significant advance,” said the Monegasque driver. “I hope I'm wrong, but it seems like this is the car's full potential.

“Where are we losing time? Everywhere. Honestly, my lap in Q3 was clean. Maybe if we'd done a few more laps on the medium tyre in practice this morning, we could have set up the car a little better. We could have had a tenth or a tenth, but that's not enough. We're so far behind now.”

Former Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto, now heading the Sauber-Audi project, said he still feels empathy for those at Maranello. “I feel for the Ferrari fans,” Binotto told Autosprint. “And I think of the many people who work in Maranello. I know they give their heart and soul every day, and it's not easy to live with these results.

“I'm deeply sorry to see this, but at the same time, I've opened a new chapter.” Ex-Ferrari driver and Sky Italia pundit Ivan Capelli said the team’s difficulties stem from poor coordination and recurring errors.

“Ferrari is currently experiencing a period of confusion, technically, in terms of timing, in terms of management,” Capelli said. “It always seems like the wrong decision is being made.

“Leclerc had an issue in FP1, but there was another management issue in the session with the drivers queuing up. It's clear they're getting the timing wrong. All of this builds up a tension that makes you always say at the end of the session: ‘We made a mistake again this time.’”