Mattia Binotto has detailed how Ferrari were able to overcome an area of concern over the Australian Grand Prix weekend. Several teams seemed to experience graining on the front left tyre during running at the Albert Park Circuit, and Binotto admits that the Scuderia were aware that this could be a problem. However, the fact that they began to address the issue as soon as Friday enabled the Italian outfit to better deal with it. "It's an issue which we were concerned [about]," Binotto told media, including RacingNews365.com , following Sunday's race. "And we knew that it could have been - certainly [with] the Medium tyre - a concern, so we worked on it since the Friday, on the set-up, on the balance and tyres management with the drivers. "[Luckily] enough, we didn't suffer in the race and we had a better pace."
Binotto points to car balance as factor in tyre management
In terms of why Ferrari appeared to handle their tyres so well in Melbourne compared to some of their rivals, Binotto believes this was down to a number of factors. "Honestly, [it's] difficult for me to answer because I can only look at ourselves and our data," the team boss explained. " I don't know what the others had or didn't [have]. Certainly it was a difficult track, difficult to balance the car, high-speed to low-speed. "I think that having a well balanced car was a key element in the view of tyres management." Binotto has also praised the team's drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, in assisting with this. "The drivers managed well," he added. "I think Charles did a pretty good job in that. He has learned a lot from the past. But [there is] no doubt that our car was balanced, and with the hottest condition of [Sunday] compared to the rest of the weekend. "I don't think that the downforce level was an element, because if I look at the speed on the straights, if I look at our direct competitors, I think that [they were running] a higher downforce level compared to what they had, for example, in Jeddah, and they were a lot closer to us."
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