Ferrari is confident of avoiding a repeat of last year’s disastrous Italian Grand Prix at Monza this weekend.
After a woeful qualifying due to their underpowered engine, Sebastian Vettel would retire early on with brake failure before Charles Leclerc crashed heavily at Parabolica on race day.
Since then, solid progress has been made on the power unit, but team boss Mattia Binotto accepts it is not enough to be challenging for the win Ferrari fans would want.
“We know Monza will not be easy for us, there’s always an engine disadvantage we will pay on the straights,” he told Sky Italia.
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“But I think we can prepare well [with] the aerodynamic package we have, also with efficiency on the straights, we will do for sure better than last year.
“Then it’s a track where you have to know how to attack the kerbs, there are important braking zones. I wouldn’t take it for granted. So now we go to Monza absolutely with the desire to do well.”
After being absent last year due to Covid-19, the Tifosi will be back in the stands this year albeit at 50% capacity.
And after the incredible atmosphere last weekend at Zandvoort, Charles Leclerc hopes those wearing red can respond.
“Obviously, Monza is always extremely special for the drivers and for the team,” he said.
“It is the home for the team, and we can always feel the support. Obviously, what I lived in 2019 [when I won], I will remember that for my whole life.
“This year might be a bit more difficult compared to 2019 but it will be good to feel the support.
“The craziness that we have seen for Max [at the Dutch GP] I hope to see it for us in Monza, but it is always very special to be racing at the home of Ferrari.”
This weekend also marks Carlos Sainz’s first Italian GP as a Ferrari driver, and he is keen to soak up the experience.
“Honestly, in terms of Monza, I think it is going to be a weekend that I am going to try and enjoy to the maximum,” said the Spaniard.
“It is going to be a weekend that for sure I will remember all my life so I’m going to try and go there and enjoy it, make it memorable and try and have a strong result.
“But until Monza, unfortunately, I have a lot of homework to do, a lot of things to analyse and to try and find out with the engineers.
“I am sure, once I know more or less what happened in the race, I will try to reset the mind and go into Monza a lot happier.”