Home/F1

In a spot of great news for Italian fans, Scuderia Ferrari have finally reached Australian shores. In other words, the team is ready for the 2020 F1 season opener. Admittedly, the Maranello outfit endured a difficult pre-season and were on the back foot. However, team principal Mattia Binotto is confident that his team will be ready to tackle the season.

Binotto did not hide the fact that Ferrari were way behind Mercedes during pre-season testing. With the season-opener just around the corner, he is sure that his team are ready to fight for wins.

“After a long winter working on building and developing our car, the time has come to get a first indication of our performance. How effective are the improvements we have introduced over the past few months,” Binotto told Motorsport.com.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

“We know that the opposition is strong, but we also know that it is the start of a long season where development rate, reliability, and our operational effectiveness will be key.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Scuderia Ferrari have been through a lot in the past few weeks

In the buildup to the 2020 season, Scuderia Ferrari came under the spotlight for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, the team was embroiled in a massive controversy over its 2019 power unit. This was actually related to an FIA investigation into the power unit. At the end of the saga, the FIA reached a mysterious settlement with Ferrari.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

To further complicate matters, the coronavirus outbreak hit Italy, and by extent, Ferrari. It got to a stage where the team came close to being unable to travel to Australia. This is why Binotto believes that Ferrari needs to put smiles back on the faces of the suffering fans in Italy. Sadly, the Italian government locked down the northern region of the country, owing to the coronavirus outbreak.

“At what is a difficult time for Italy and the world as a whole, as part of a global sport, it is our obligation to try and put a smile on people’s faces. As they prepare to watch the first race of the season with the same sense of anticipation as ourselves” concluded Binotto.