Moving past the disappointing result, Ferrari is taking the positives from their best weekend of 2019 in Canada.
The Scuderia had the perfect car for the challenge of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as their straight-line speed saw allowed Sebastian Vettel to finish first on track ahead of Lewis Hamilton before the penalty.
And at a time when questions are being asked about the German’s future in Formula 1, Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto is “satisfied” with his performance.
“In Sebastian, I see a calm, motivated Formula 1 driver,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport last weekend in Montreal.
“Apart from the mistake in the fight against Hamilton in Bahrain, he drives more solidly than in 2018. I am satisfied with him.
“Perhaps he understood last year that if the car does not allow more than fifth, then he must drive home in fifth place.”
Then after the race, he also saw positives in how Vettel reacted to what took place.
“It’s a good sign for a driver,” he said. “He’s very hungry, we are all hungry here and that is certainly what will help us through the coming weeks and months and races.
“At the moment, we, as a team, are naturally disappointed, but most of all our thoughts are with Sebastian… I don’t think he could have done things differently, which is why we have decided to appeal the stewards’ decision.”
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The reality may well be, however, that Ferrari’s pace in Canada was a one-off and on a more technical circuit like Paul Ricard, Mercedes will again dominate.
“We leave Canada knowing that, as indeed over the whole weekend, we proved we were competitive, and that fact has been a confidence booster for the whole team,” Binotto reflected.
“We were the fastest on track and that is important… We know there are weaknesses to address, [but the] season is not over.”
