Since 2022, Mattia Binotto has been participating in the F1 Team Principal press conferences again, now as Technical Director of the Kick Sauber team. Here are his statements.
First, he commented on the milestone achieved by the team in the last GP in Qatar, where Zhou secured eighth place, earning the team its first 4 points of the season.
“It was an important race for us, with an important result. We had been at zero points all season, and it was very painful for the entire team. I think we made great progress with the updates from Las Vegas. We know that, to score points, we need someone ahead to make mistakes or for something to happen, but we must be right behind to seize the opportunity, and that’s what happened.”
He continued: “Scoring points was fantastic—four very important points. It shows that the progress we’re making is heading in the right direction, meaning that the work we’re doing in the simulator translates to the track, which is very encouraging.”
The engineer also described the achievement from an emotional perspective: “It was emotional, I have to say, for the entire team—some even cried. It was very emotional for me as well. Before, I wasn’t used to being so emotional over an eighth place, but it happens now because we know where we are and where we started. As I said, these are four very important points as we look toward the coming seasons.”
Mattia Binotto then shared his impressions of the Kick Sauber team, starting with the current situation and moving on to future objectives.
“The impression I’ve had after four months was actually formed in the first two weeks because the first impression is often the right one. Comparing it to my previous work experience and our main rivals, it’s direct and spans all areas. [Kick Sauber] is a great team, and the people here are great, providing a solid foundation for the future. Of course, when you look at the size compared to the top teams, there’s a gap—we’re talking about around 400 fewer people.” – the former Ferrari boss said ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“Additionally, in terms of equipment, there are fewer manufacturing and engineering resources, and the simulator is much older… This affects the entire structure. But we knew this, and we understand it’s a long journey for us. It’s not something you can transform in a few months or even a couple of seasons. So, that said, our goal is to be successful by 2030, and reaching that goal by that date is far from guaranteed.”
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