Binotto hopeful Ferrari F1 maintains low-speed advantage over McLaren in Monaco

After enduring its worst season since 1980 last year, Ferrari has enjoyed a respectable step forward in 2021.

Ferrari currently sits fourth in the constructors’ championship, just five points behind McLaren. 

The Italian outfit held the advantage last time out at the Circuit de Barcelona, outperforming its Woking-based rivals in the final sector, which predominantly consists of low-speed corners.

Due to Ferrari’s impressive pace in the final sector in Spain, it is expected to go well in Monaco this weekend due to its low-speed nature. 

Assessing his team’s chances ahead of the Monaco GP, Binotto said: “I think it's a very specific circuit. Yes, obviously having good downforce here in the last sector gives you a good feeling and it puts you in a good state of mind going to Monaco because, for sure, you prefer to be quick in sector three in Barcelona. 

“And at the same time Monaco then has a lot of specifics of car set up, tyre preparation for qualifying. The cars are so different in Monaco that it could change a bit the picture, what we need to focus now is in keep learning from what we learned this weekend, try to put together the best possible plan, the best possible setup for Monaco and we try to maximise our performance there. 

“But yeah, I would keep it cautious just to see how it goes there with very different cars and setups.”

This weekend’s race in Monte Carlo will be Charles Leclerc’s third F1 race on home soil.

The Monegasque hasn’t finished in the points in his previous two home races, but he is confident of a competitive weekend. 

“But I'm really looking forward to Monaco, obviously it is a very special weekend for me. And a weekend I have not been very, very lucky in the past so I hope we can have a good weekend, as a team,” Leclerc added. 

“And also looking at the third sector. We were quite competitive here so of course it's different but we seem to have a strong car so hopefully we can be competitive at home.