The 2020 season was a difficult one for Ferrari. The troublesome car and slow engine among other things happening in the team resulted in them only being able to secure 6th position in constructors championship this year. Despite the problems, the team from Maranello is a little bit more optimistic regarding the 2021 campaign, hoping to make good gains.

Mattia Binotto, the team principal of Ferrari does not see any reason why the team could not bounce back and return to their top 3 position. As he said in an interview: “The team has been capable of finishing second in the past five years, except for one third. So I think that third is not fully impossible. I think that should be at least our minimum objective for next season.”

Binotto keeps in mind the complex situation regarding the 2021 token system, that could potentially be an advantage to competitors like Aston Martin and AlphaTauri. The token system was imposed by F1 for the upcoming season which allows the teams to choose where to spend their resources on regarding development of parts. They are limited to two tokens, but the loophole in the rules will allow Aston and AlphaTauri to upgrade their suspensions and gearboxes token free, as they’re customer parts (they are not developed by the teams but sourced from others).

As Binotto said: “We've got limitations in our development for next year, which is the token system. With only two tokens to play, we somehow have to try to address or modify the weaknesses of this year. But there are teams which, at the moment, are not limited by tokens. They've got free tokens, Racing Point and AlphaTauri. So those teams will have an advantage, a competitive advantage [compared] to us and other teams, in terms of the development, that we need to be fully aware. Then, other teams [McLaren] will change engine manufacturers and may have an upgrade in terms of engine power, which again we need to be aware of.”

He added: “So again the competitors will be very strong next year. But, as I said, I believe that we've got here in Maranello, a strong team and I fully trust that we can do a better job compared to what we did today.”

However, Binotto stays somewhat realistic, as he is very much aware of the fact that the cars from Maranello are not gonna be able to challenge Mercedes just yet. He still believes in the potential to finish 3rd in the championship. As he said: “I think we need to be realistic. The gap to the best team today is very big. I think obviously who won [this season] will be again very strong next year. During the season, I don't think they brought a lot of developments on track because they were certainly focused on 2021, so I'm expecting this team to be strong, very strong, again next year. I think there is no surprise. So to say that we can be back on track next year and to battle for the championship would be unrealistic.”