Ferrari F1 Boss Confident That Drivers are Aware of the Consequences of Their Actions

Following the Brazilian Grand Prix, the Ferrari collision was all that anyone could talk about. Immediately, both drivers were hauled up to explain themselves in front of the Ferrari higher-ups.

Now, team principal Mattia Binotto is confident that Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel are aware that their actions were “not acceptable”.

On that day, Leclerc made a successful overtake on Vettel, who fought back instantly. The bad news was that Vettel botched up his defence and moved over on Leclerc, taking both of them out.

On the outside, the contact appeared minor, but it was bad enough for both drivers to retire from the race.

Binotto played peacemaker and refused to pin the blame on either driver for the crash. However, the disappointed team boss called it a “silly action” and vowed to examine the incident.

Speaking in a video Q&A session ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Binotto confirmed that both Vettel and Leclerc talked it out.

He said, “We discussed together, all three together, individually, and I think that they understand what happened was not acceptable. And we know how to move forward.”

There have been a number of incidents involving both drivers as the guilty party. This include, Leclerc ignoring instructions during qualifying in Monza, Vettel beating his team-mate to a Singapore win through strategy and Vettel refusing to honour a pre-race agreement during the Russian Grand Prix.

However, Binotto allayed any fears of discord within the Ferrari camp, between the drivers. He said, “The truth is they have fun together, as they enjoy a good and harmonious relationship, which is maybe quite different to what you might read or think.”

“You could think that they are in conflict on the track, but that is not the case. For example, I remember that after the controversy in Russia, the three of us were together in a restaurant in Japan, having fun.”

“They even grabbed each other’s phones to see what photos they had on them. It’s always fun and it’s nice that they enjoy each other’s company.”