Binotto shoots down Rosberg comments as Leclerc title challenge fails

Nico Rosberg tells of his willingness to befriend Lewis Hamilton

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Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has fired back at Nico Rosberg’s criticism of his team’s pit stops, as Charles Leclerc’s title chances slip further and further away. The gap between Max Verstappen and Leclerc only grew bigger at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday, as the former claimed victory whilst the latter finished third.

It was an afternoon full of drama in the Netherlands, especially for Ferrari. Most notably, Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz fell foul to the chaos after his team made a hash of a pit stop midway through the race as a left-rear medium tyre was placed incorrectly.

The Spaniard then suffered again in his second stop, after he was released in the path of fellow countryman Fernando Alonso earning him a five-second penalty. Following the array of errors, 2016 world champion Rosberg did not hold back with his criticism of the Italian team.

Speaking on Sky Sports, he said: “Oh my goodness. ‘No, no, we don’t need to make any changes, everything is going well’. When is the day coming?” Describing Ferrari’s pit work as worse than some Formula 2 and 3 teams, he added: “It’s not possible.

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“Even Formula 2 teams or F3 teams do a better job at their strategy and pit stops than Ferrari. You go to the pits and there’s no tyre there in a normal race? At some point they really need to start making some changes.”

The Prancing Horse’s boss Binotto was less than impressed with the comments though, and hit back at the former Mercedes star. He commented: “First, I think it is so easy to speak when you are outside [of the paddock]. It is easy to criticise.

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“But we will not change people: that is my answer to Rosberg. We have got great people and it has been proven that what is more important in sport is stability and that we make sure we are improving day-by-day and race-by-race. We have got great people in the team and I have no doubt on that. 

“It takes years and experience for all teams to be at the front, and I think there is no reason why it should be different for ourselves.” The Italian setup currently sit second in the constructors standings on 376 points – 135 behind leaders Red Bull.

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