26/10/2020
NEWS STORY
Like Alex Albon, Sebastian Vettel's weekend in Portimao is best forgotten, both drivers enjoying almost anonymous Sunday afternoons.
On the other hand, Charles Leclerc's drive to fourth - not to mention his mega lap on Saturday - was among the stand-outs of the weekend.
However, having qualified well at Mugello and again at the Nurburgring, come race day performance fell away, this weekend it didn't, the Monegasque finishing fourth, albeit over a minute behind the winner.
The Maranello outfit brought a number of updates to the Iberian Peninsular, not least a new diffuser, however, team boss, Mattia Binotto was keen to play down suggestions that this weekend's performance signals that Ferrari has turned the corner on a trying season and is about to stage a revival.
"I don't think it's day and night compared to the Mugello," said Binotto, "I think the car was slightly improved, but it's not a completely different picture.
"When I think the battle is so close in the midfield, a couple of tenths may help being ahead of staying behind," he added. "I think in the Mugello our race pace was very poor, compared to qualifying, I think here the race pace has been better, but there are many reasons for it and not only the car upgrades.
"I think it's important for us that we prove in the next races that they are bringing us the performance we've seen here or if it was just specific to Portimao."
With five races remaining, Ferrari remains sixth in the team standings, the gap to third-placed Racing Point just 33 points.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Portimao, here.