Ferrari give Binotto vote of confidence despite Mercedes dominance

Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri has backed the Scuderia's team principal Mattia Binotto to turn the team's flagging fortunes around after the red cars suffered a fifth defeat to Mercedes in as many races this year at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Mercedes have begun 2019 with five one-two finishes in as many races, with Ferrari's efforts hampered by strategic indecision and the SF90's failure to match the W10 through the corners, despite its straight-line advantage.

Some have pointed to Binotto sharing both team principal and technical director roles as a source of Ferrari's struggles as he is spread too thin.

However, Camilleri says Binotto retains full faith from the Ferrari hierarchy, with this week's Barcelona test offering the team a chance to fix the ills they suffered in the Spanish GP.

"There is no panic. My job is to prevent rumours from spreading, so now is the time to close ranks," Camilleri told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I am sure he [Binotto] will find a solution. Now we are having two important test days and I am sure that we can recover quickly.

"I do not have a crystal ball so I cannot say when we will find a solution, but I am sure that this testing will help."

Next up is Monaco, where Ferrari have won just once since 2001, Vettel's victory two years ago.

But Camilleri does not expect a change in his team's fortunes in Monte Carlo.

He added: "There are a lot of narrow and slow turns similar to the third sector in Barcelona where we had problems all weekend."

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