Mattia Binotto laments Ferrari F1 team's reliability issues: 'Yes, it's a concern'

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto says reliability issues are becoming a concern in their battle with Red Bull for the Formula 1 titles.

In the opening three races of the season, Red Bull struggled with reliability issues, which allowed Ferrari to lead the constructors' standings.

But things have changed in the last few races for Ferrari after Charles Leclerc lost a comfortable lead at the Spanish GP due to mechanical issues. Alfa Romeo and Haas, who use Ferrari engines, have also suffered lately with engine issues.

Reliability is worrying

In an interview, Binotto admits to having concern over reliability, saying: "Reliability is always a concern. When something is happening, it's never great. So it's worrying us. We are looking at what happened.

"Sometimes, you've got straight explanations. It can be caused by external accidents. It can be caused by exceptional, let me say, circumstances. Other ones may be a true worry and concern.

"So reliability has been a key factor so far in the championship because we failed in Spain, and for Red Bull as well, they've got three DNFs. As you said, our customer teams got some as well.

"So it's a challenge, as performance reliability is certainly a big challenge and reliability, when you've got concerns, it's never obvious to fix them in a short time.

"So yes, it is a concern."

When asked about Red Bull's issues with regards to the DRS in Spain, Binotto added: "It doesn't mean that we are too concerned - I hope Christian [Horner] is more than myself. But let's do our best job from now to the end of the season, and hopefully, everything will be smooth and clear."