With Charles Leclerc out of the race at the start after crashing, the hope was to get Carlos Sainz as far forward as possible after starting last due to an engine penalty.
Having started on the alternative hard tire compared to the front runners, the Spaniard switched to the medium during Leclerc’s safety car period, asking him a tough ask to reach the finish.
But as he made rapid progress and eventually overtook Red Bull’s Sergio Perez for a place on the podium, Ferrari issued him several radio messages suggesting they were changing their strategy on the fly.
These conversations gave the impression that Ferrari was not decisive enough in what he wanted to do. His indecisiveness in the past has proved costly, such as when Leclerc lost a near-certain victory at the Monaco GP after being undercut by Perez.
Finally, after taking on Sainz, which dropped him far down the order and with no hope of regaining the podium by the time he finished fifth, even he wondered why they hadn’t progressed to in the end.
Mattia Binotto, Ferrari team principal
Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto is in no doubt, however, that his team’s strategic call was the right one, both because of the tire degradation it was suffering from and the fact that it carried a five-second penalty for a insecure release his first pit stop.
“I think in terms of the choice we made, it was the right one and the right one,” said Binotto, when asked by Motorsport.com for his thoughts on the strategic calls.
“I think Carlos in the cockpit didn’t have all the information, so it was difficult for him to judge. But without a doubt, I think we made the right decision.
“First, we were trying to extend his stage as much as possible to have the best fit to the life of the tyre, to make sure that at least we weren’t overshooting.
“But as soon as we got all the information we needed, we realized there wasn’t enough tire life to get to the end of the race. As simple as that.
“Staying out would have been a risk in terms of safety and reliability in terms of tire life. So we had to stop.
“Also, I think that Carlos’ pace would not have been enough to open a gap of more than five seconds to Pérez and [George] Russell, somehow, to cover the five-second penalty.
“So it was right to stop. Also with that we did the fastest lap of the race, which was still a point, an important point for the team and for Carlos.”
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