Ferrari started the season on a high note with 2 wins in the first 3 races. Ever since then, while Red Bull has shown a remarkable resurgence, part of the blame for Ferrari’s downfall has to go to Ferrari itself. While they have been under heavy fire for faltering, often, Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has now taken a dig at Mercedes for following the same path.

With some faulty race and tire strategy, the Prancing Horse has fallen down the pecking order. Charles Leclerc, who was 46 points ahead of Max Verstappen at one point in the season, lost out on the championship with 4 races to go. Now, as the season is progressing, Ferrari is facing a threat to lose their 2nd position in the constructors’ standings to Mercedes.

Mattia Binotto takes a dig at Mercedes

The Silver Arrows’ resurgence in the last few races is nothing short of a miracle. Sporting a car that earlier faced a number of issues, the pace they have shown lately is remarkable. Not only are they beating Ferrari race after race, but they are also challenging Red Bull for race wins. However, a bad tire strategy and poor anticipation as to Red Bull’s pit stops cost them a win at the Mexican GP.

Mattia Binotto, who has been under fire for giving up too early in the season to Red Bull, recently talking with Formu1a.uno, said, “In Hungary, we have been criticized, and it happens when we make choices that are not completely right.”

“But Mercedes has lost the last few races by making the wrong choice of tires, so it is not just us who make certain mistakes. “

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On Sunday at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mercedes finished P2 (Lewis Hamilton) and P4 (George Russell). Ferrari, on the other hand, ended the race in P5 (Carlos Sainz) and P6 (Charles Leclerc).

Carlos Sainz’s recurring struggle to get out of the car

FIA’s commitment to drivers’ safety saw the introduction of the Head and Neck Safety (HANS) device in F1 cars. Helmets are attached to the HANS device to prevent drivers from banging their heads around in the car in case of an accident or getting whiplash. The only drawback of the mechanism is that it needs to be removed before the driver gets out of the car.

Therefore, in case of an incident like the car catching on fire, drivers would take more time to hop out of the car. Despite that, the pros outweigh the cons. However, a couple of incidents involving Carlos Sainz have got fans worrying about his safety. In one of the incidents this year, Sainz’s car caught fire, and the Spaniard was unable to exit the car quickly. That was because the HANS device was stuck.

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The issue resurfaced in Mexico when he was in parc ferme and couldn’t get out of the car. While there was no safety issue this time around, fans took Ferrari to task for failing to deal with the issue. Carlos later got out of the car when a couple of Ferrari mechanics unhooked the HANS after struggling for a while.