Mattia Binotto is looking to put the disappointment of the result of the Canadian Grand Prix behind them this weekend as Scuderia Ferrari seek their first victory of 2019 at the Circuit Paul Ricard.
Sebastian Vettel took the chequered flag first at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve two weeks ago but was forced to settle for second behind Lewis Hamilton in the final result, which was as a result of a five-second penalty handed to him by the stewards for returning to the track in an unsafe manner at turn four after going off at turn three.
Charles Leclerc completed the podium in Canada, but all focus will now turn to the French Grand Prix as Ferrari bid to end Mercedes’ unbroken run of seven straight victories to start the 2019 season.
Ferrari will be bringing some updates to the car for the eighth Grand Prix of the year, and although Binotto says they will be improvements, they still will not solve all the problems the team are facing at this point of the season.
“Following Canada we definitely want to get back on track and go racing with our rivals once again,” said Binotto. “In France we will have a few small evolutions, elements that represent for us a useful step in defining the direction we will take in developing the car.
“What we will be bringing won’t be the solution to our problems, but the technical feedback we get from these evolutions will be important for the next steps we take.”
Binotto admits the team go into the weekend expecting the package not to particularly suit the Paul Ricard track, particularly on the basis on how the 2018 event went for the team.
“Paul Ricard has been a tricky circuit for us last year and we know that this kind of track isn’t particularly favourable for our package, but nothing is impossible so we will be ready to do our best,” said Binotto.
