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Ferrari have set their sights on beating McLaren this season and finishing P3 in the championship. The Italian team recently introduced an upgraded power unit which helped them make significant gains at the Turkish Grand Prix, cutting down the gap to McLaren to just 7.5 points.
When asked about Ferrari's ambitions for the 2021 season, Team Principal Mattia Binotto outlined the importance of finishing third in the championship this season. According to Binotto, such a target would help the team prepare for future high-pressure challenges.
When asked about the importance of the battle for third, Binotto said:
"It’s certainly a target that we have already communicated to the team. I think everybody is on board with that. It would be great to finish third. I think even working with a clear objective by the end of this season, it’s important for us because it’s a way of working under pressure and being trained to do that. So yes, our objective is to finish third at the end of the season."
Tricky to determine the gains achieved by the upgraded Ferrari engine
Carlos Sainz was questioned on the role the new engine could play in Ferrari's battle with McLaren. The Spaniard said that it was a bit tricky to predict as they've only completed two races with the new engine and the McLaren was the quicker car at Russia while Ferrari had the edge in Turkey. Sainz said:
“You saw in Turkey we were quicker than McLaren. In Sochi, they were quicker than us. So I still believe it’s going to be up and down until the end of the year. What this engine should give us, I think it’s the possibility for the circuits where we are behind to be a bit closer to them, and in the circuits where we are in front, to be maybe a bit further up. This is what we were looking for since the upgrade was pushed forward, and what we hope is going to give us that little edge to try and make the fight a bit more complicated.
Just like the battle at the front between Mercedes and Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren have been embroiled in a year-long battle for third in the championship. It will be interesting to see if either of the two can put an exclamation mark on this battle or whether it goes down to the wire.
