"They simply have the best car and the best team" - Mattia Binotto not responsible for Ferrari's blunders in 2022 F1 season, claims former driver

Contrary to popular belief, former F1 driver Jan Lammers feels that Ferrari could have done very little to keep Max Verstappen at bay last weekend at the 2022 French Grand Prix, purely on the basis of pace and strategy. He insists that Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto is not to be entirely blamed for the team's consistent errors in strategy and mismanagement, emphasizing that Red Bull simply has a better package.

As reported by GPblog, Lammers said:

“I would keep him on for a while. They simply have the best car and the best team. They just don’t score when they get the opportunity. And then I think, 'When do you want to score?'”

Pole sitter Charles Leclerc took a comfortable lead at the start of the race, only to lose it to the Dutchman after crashing into the barriers on lap 18. After inheriting the lead, Verstappen drove quite a lonely race to secure his seventh win of the season.

Binotto later commented on the incident, insisting that the Ferrari driver is not to be blamed for the same. He said:

“I think it’s a bit of an unfair judgement. He was driving certainly at the limit. There are things that may happen when you’re driving to the limit. Why it happened, we will see if is there anything else. We take our time with him to discuss and to judge, but at the moment, there is no reason to blame him.”

---

Red Bull boss defends Ferrari's Charles Leclerc after French GP crash

Unlike last season, the two championship contenders for the 2022 title seem to share plenty of mutual respect, as recently indicated by Christian Horner's comments on Charles Leclerc's crash at the French GP.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the Briton admitted that Leclerc was a talented driver, who should not necessarily have a reputation for being a "crasher." Horner said:

“He is a very strong driver. These two guys are pushing each other so hard and these cars are right on the edge in these conditions. His bad luck was our good luck and it’s swung around during the course of the year.”

With 82 points currently separating Red Bull and Ferrari in the Constructor Standings, it will be interesting to see not only whether the Scuderia can make a dent in the deficit, but also whether Mercedes might overtake the Italian outfit in the constructors' championship.