Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto has issued another statement regarding team orders. Ferrari employed controversial team orders in 2019, which backfired and ultimately derailed the team’s campaign. Binotto had earlier proclaimed that the team would be treating both drivers equally in 2020.

Ferrari to implement team orders under certain conditions

Ferrari and team orders are an age-old relationship that is a part and parcel of the team. The team have always had a firm ‘number 1’ and ‘number 2 ‘driver in its ranks. It is the way the Italian team operates and partly why they’ve been so dominant in the past.

In 2019, when Charles Leclerc joined the Scuderia, the team revealed that Sebastian Vettel would be given preference in certain situations. This ultimately proved to be the wrong decision as Leclerc’s pace was phenomenal. The Monegasque and the German had multiple run-ins on track before eventually taking each other out in the penultimate race.

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Poor strategy calls, an underperforming car and driver mismanagement meant the Italian team had to implement some changes quickly. Thus, at the SF1000 car launch, Mattia Binotto declared that both drivers would be given equal opportunities on race weekends. Ferrari is implementing a ‘fair’ strategy after a long time.

However, following the first preseason test at Barcelona, Binotto changed his stance.

“I am not saying that they are free to race with no team orders,”

“so there might be team orders for the benefit of the entire team. But it has to be a clear situation.”

The Italian also acknowledged Leclerc’s fantastic debut season for the red team.

“I think Charles drove a fantastic season last year and he has reached the same level of Sebastian as well in terms of final results,”

“So it is right that they are on the same level to start in 2020 and I think they know as well the team has the first priority so team orders may still be there.”

Binotto also believes there won’t be a repeat of Brazil if the drivers are free to race other.

“Generally speaking, there’s not much I need to tell them because they understand perfectly what the path must be to win on the track.”

Ferrari’s poor first test

Ferrari has had a mediocre first preseason test. The team struggled to keep up with the top teams and suffered a setback with Vettel’s engine failing on day 3. Binotto has declared that team aren’t favourites for the first race in Melbourne. Furthermore, The Italian conceded that the car wasn’t on par with its rivals.