Portuguese Grand Prix: Binotto-Vettel “We expect more from the second driver”

In this 2020 season, the team with the prancing horse logo is feeling the pressure, with a modest sixth place in the constructor’s championship with 93 points while Mercedes AMG Petronas has 435 points; tough times for the Italians.

The Italian team has clearly not produced a car capable of competing with the silver arrows, much to the disappointment of Sebastian Vettel, who hoped to end on a high note with the reds. The driver will indeed leave Ferrari to pursue an ambitious project with Aston Martin in 2021.

Difficult weekends keep piling up for the German driver: few appearances in Q3, only 18 points in the drivers’ championship, races where he fights for just a single point…

The world champion is currently experiencing the worst period of his career, despite it being crowned with success.

It should be reminded that the German driver is the author of 57 pole positions, 53 victories, and four world titles. He is the third most successful man after Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. His talent and reputation are well-established; however, every day criticisms pour in.

Mattia Binotto spoke to the microphone of Sky Sport Italia following the Portimao Grand Prix, during which Charles Leclerc crossed the finish line in fourth position while his illustrious teammate finished tenth, disappointed to have lost too much time during the opening laps.

« The two cars are identical, I hope Vettel will show his best in Imola. Charles is doing a good job, but we expect more from the second driver ».

If he mentions the controversy regarding the fact that the two drivers would not have the same car, it is because the remarks of the youngest F1 world champion suggested it on RTL’s microphone:

« I am torn, on one hand I am happy because I had a good race […] but on the other hand, the other car is much faster. I am losing time in the same places every time, I can see it from the data. An idiot might never achieve what Charles does. But I don’t think I’m completely an idiot. »

On one side, a team leader who defends himself from any favoritism towards the one whom the Italians call “il predestinato” (the chosen one), and who relegates Sebastian Vettel to the rank of “deuxième pilote” (second driver); on the other, a driver in the grip of doubt, at the center of a storm of criticism, a driver barely named by his director.

The controversy continues to grow on social media, and the ardent fans of the German driver who self-proclaim as the Vettelians have been relentlessly defending their hero since last night.