Mattia Binotto believes that Ferrari's poor start at the Singapore Grand Prix ultimately affected the rest of their race. Charles Leclerc had secured his ninth pole position of the season in Saturday's qualifying and lined up ahead of Red Bull's Sergio Perez, with fellow Scuderia driver Carlos Sainz back in fourth. However, it was Perez who had a better getaway off the line, meaning that the Mexican was able to take an early lead ahead of Leclerc. Despite looking like posing a challenge towards the end of the race, Leclerc could not find a way past Perez. The Red Bull driver went on to win the event, while Leclerc and Sainz came home in second and third respectively.
Binotto believes Ferrari start affected race result
Reflecting on the team's performance, Binotto suggested that a better result would have been possible had Ferrari had a stronger start to the race. "I think the start was not great," the team boss told Sky Sports F1 . "We lose position at the start, and that has affected the rest of the race. Had we done a better start, I think we would have had a better result. "On the start itself, I think Charles had a good reaction time. He went well in terms of procedures but later on, he had too much wheelspin because there was too little grip. "But we'll review it as that affected the rest of the race. "I think then finishing second and third overall is still a good result. If we look in terms of the Constructors' Championship, it has been a good weekend."
Performance in different conditions a positive for Binotto
There were varying weather conditions throughout the weekend in Singapore, with some sessions remaining dry while others were affected by earlier rainfall. Binotto was pleased to see that the F1-75 seemed to perform well in all conditions. "I think overall the car was working well on the wet, on the dry, in [qualifying] and in the race," he explained. "We can be satisfied because, looking back at Spa or Zandvoort, it was more difficult, so I think we have addressed some of the issues we had. "At the end, we had been fast on dry when we switched to slicks. We had been brave to be the first switching to slicks between us and Checo [Perez]. "I think we went well on the wets and on the dries, and I think that's the most positive of the weekend."
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