05/08/2019
NEWS STORY
Though Sebastian Vettel claimed his second podium in as many weeks yesterday, nothing can mask the fact that both Ferraris finished over a minute behind the winner.
Though continually setting the pace in S1, it was the tight, twisty second and third sectors where the SF90 was losing out to both the Mercedes and Red Bull.
"What we should try to explain is not the minute but how is it possible that maybe a week ago we have the fastest car, and here we are somehow not the fastest," said team boss Mattia Binotto.
"Here, as we often say, is very track dependent," he said of the Hungaroring. "We know that our car is somehow lacking maximum downforce and when you are on a circuit like Budapest where maximum downforce is required, then we are suffering.
"You are suffering even more in the race compared to qualifying," he continued, "because in the single lap of the qualifying eventually the grip of the tyres is coping with the lack of downforce it may have. But over a long distance, you are sliding, overheating the tyres and things are more complicated.
"Sebastian did a good job of managing the tyres in the first stint, thus lengthening it, which meant he could fit the softs and run with them to the chequered flag. However, we have to understand why Charles' tyres wore so much and fix for the coming races. We pitted him, as his rears were very used and there was nothing else we could do.
"Next week we will be back in the office and there is still much to do before we are on the summer break but I think it's important for us to stop and rest a bit," he said. "We spent a lot of energy on this initial start of the season, after the winter testing and Australia, when we recognised that we had a gap to close on our main competitors.
"We spend really in all the departments back in the factory and at the race track a lot of energy so it's the right time to have some holidays."
Check out our Sunday gallery from the Hungaroring, here.