"It's only three races" - Ferrari claims they are 'not managing the championship'

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto refuted claims that Ferrari will now be managing the championship because of its advantage in the standings. Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, when questioned if Ferrari can now manage the championship from this stage, Binotto said:

“We are not managing the championship. It’s only three races. We stay focused on every single race and that is the way we will approach. That one was great. In all truth, to do a good weekend and to win you need to be perfect. That was the case in Bahrain, because it was always very tight. We were not perfect in Jeddah and we lost. Here, again we have had a great weekend and that is how we need to approach it.”

Reflecting on a somewhat perfect weekend for Charles Leclerc, the Italian said:

“Today was a great satisfaction. We know that every single race can be different but at least let’s enjoy today. I think teamwork, engineering, set-up, drivers, all good. The start of the weekend was not easy, the set-up of the car was not balanced, Charles had to get up to speed but I think he worked well through the weekend, he made the fastest lap in the race and a fantastic win.”

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Ferrari: Carlos Sainz will bounce back soon

On the other side of the garage for Ferrari, Carlos Sainz suffered an early retirement in the race as he spun into the gravel. Mattia Binotto, however, was not too bothered by the off-weekend for the Spaniard. Binotto said:

“He is certainly pretty disappointed today. I think we understand he is disappointed. It was important for him to prove he was fast again coming into Australia. He was very fast on Friday, he was fast on Saturday morning. He could have done a good quail and then there were circumstances where he was maybe a bit unlucky. Then when you lose, let me say, concentration and focus, P9 on the grid, trouble with the steering wheel on the grid and then starting on hard tyres, these are things that should not happen but they happen.”

Expressing confidence in Sainz's ability to bounce back stronger, the 52-year-old added, saying:

“But I know Carlos [Sainz], he will come back. That’s a lesson learned. I am pretty sure he will come back strong and I am looking forward to [the next race at] Imola to see his pace and his speed.”

Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc finds himself at the top of the championship with 71 points to his name while his closest challenger in the standings, George Russell, is 34 points behind.