How Ferrari’s F1 Strategy Gamble Cost Them a Shot at P2

In the race, the Italian outfit lagged four points behind Mercedes and needed strong performances from both cars to make up the deficit.

While Charles Leclerc secured second place behind Max Verstappen, his teammate Sainz failed to earn any points. This, combined with George Russell clinching third and Lewis Hamilton taking ninth, allowed the Brackley team to maintain their lead.

Sainz encountered a frustrating Q1 session, resulting in a 16th place qualification. The team decided to start him on hard tires, but when he lacked pace, Sainz was forced to make an earlier-than-planned pit stop for another set of the same compound. This also committed him to a second pit visit for mediums, with the team hoping for a safety car intervention that never occurred. Eventually, he was retired on the penultimate lap due to an engine problem.

Team principal Frederic Vasseur defended the strategy and emphasized that Sainz was simply lacking pace. “It was not a matter of strategy, it was a matter of pace. We did not have the pace today, and in this case, all the strategies are the bad ones,” he said.

Vasseur rejected the notion that starting on the medium instead of hard tires would have changed the outcome, asserting that the issue was rooted in Sainz’s lack of pace rather than the tire choice.

Vasseur further elaborated that the championship outcome was not solely decided at the finale, pointing out previous tough events and reliability issues that posed greater challenges than the day’s performance.