SPIELBERG, Austria — Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto was so concerned about the reliability of Charles Leclerc’s car at the end of the Austrian Grand Prix that he was unable to watch the final three laps.
Leclerc won the race but in the closing stages reported that his throttle was sticking open as title rival Max Verstappen closed in on him.
With 15 laps remaining, the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz had retired in flames and Binotto feared his team could finish the race without scoring points.
“I have to admit I was very nervous,” Mattia Binotto said. “Disappointed as well because of what happened to Carlos, but I was so nervous that I stopped watching the race in the last three laps.”
Leclerc said the situation was also tense in the cockpit as he focused on keeping Verstappen behind.
“It was not only a little bit stressful – very stressful,” he said. “The throttle was very inconsistent and in the middle of corner it would get stuck a bit stuck to whatever percentage.
“In Turn 3 it was very tricky as that’s where you don’t want any more mid-speed corner. It was quite tricky to manage, not so much in the high speed, mostly in the slow speed but at the end we managed to get the car to the end which is great.”
Asked what the exact problem with Leclerc’s car was, Binotto said: “I think we need to confirm. From what I heard, the initial feedback is that it was more of a mechanical one. But I don’t have more detail than that.”
It was Leclerc’s first victory since the Australian Grand Prix in April and he said it was vital for kickstarting his championship campaign.
“I definitely needed it, of course whenever I get to a new race, since five races [ago] I have a smile on my face and I kept being optimistic but obviously hard races after hard races it felt like everything was against me,” he said. “Finally we had a breakthrough, a good race today and it feels great to have the win again.”