Vettel’s car ’identical’ to Leclerc’s - Binotto

Mattia Binotto insists that Sebastian Vettel is being supplied with a car that is "identical" to the one driven by his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

In Portugal, departing quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel finished tenth and a lap down compared to Leclerc in the sister car’s impressive fourth place.

"You can see in the telemetry that the other car is much faster in some sections, I’m not an idiot," German Vettel said afterwards.

"I don’t know if I should say more but I’ve tried everything. There are the laptimes and there are my feelings, but I have to think that we have the same car because I trust the people around me," he added.

Team boss Binotto moved quickly to dispel any doubts about unfair treatment.

"Seb and Charles’ cars are identical, there is no doubt about that," he told Sky Italia.

"Charles is certainly very good but maybe we can expect more from the second driver."

However, Binotto insisted that Vettel will remain in the car for the rest of the season.

"It’s not a discussion at all," he said. "I’m also sure that he will get points again that will give him more self confidence.

"Here, I think Sebastian could have been faster in terms of his potential, but we can’t put so much pressure on him now. We’re doing everything we can to ensure that he can finish the season as well as possible."

The good news for Ferrari is that the updates introduced over the last trio of races appear to be working.

"We think the direction we are taking is the correct one," said Binotto. "We know which path to take so now we are pushing as much as possible for next year."