F1 News: Mattia Binotto says Tifosi booing was “more toward the FIA”
Daniel Ricciardo’s retirement from the Italian GP threw a spanner in the works, as the late deployment of the safety car offered the potential for a dramatic final few laps.
However, it took several laps for the safety car to catch Max Verstappen, instead spending crucial time ahead of George Russell. This prevented the field from bunching together and ultimately prevented the safety car from being called into the pits.
Ferrari stopped Leclerc under the safety car for fresh softs, hoping that the race would return to racing conditions and offer the opportunity to fight for the victory.
This did not transpire, much to the annoyance of Mattia Binotto, who explained to the media (as quoted by Reuters) that the jeers from the Tifosi were not directed at race-winner Verstappen.
“Booing a driver is never great. Max was the fastest driver on track and deserved the win, so that [the booing] was not good.
“I think the booing from our Tifosi was more toward the FIA. The Tifosi – or the people out there – believe the safety car could have been ended before and give still a couple of laps for the show, for battles on track.”
Red Bull’s Christian Horner also voiced his opposition to how the Italian GP ended, unhappy that the race concluded under a safety car.
“It was disappointing not to win under racing conditions because it sort of goes against everything we talked about over the last years.
“Nobody wants to see a race finish under the safety car like that. It felt like there was enough time to get the race going again.
“We would have preferred to win the race under racing conditions, and you could hear the displeasure of the crows at the end there because it just felt like everybody had been robbed of that finish.”
