"Ferrari comes first" - Race director is 'very clear' on team orders for 2022 F1 season

Ferrari race director Laurent Mekies suggests the team's results are a priority when it comes to their drivers fighting each other. The French engineer believes that the team result precedes their driver ambitions when it comes to team orders.

Speaking to the on-site media at the Hungarian GP weekend, Mekies said:

"You're right in saying that it is more discussed outside Ferrari than inside Ferrari. But more seriously, we have always been very clear. We target to have the best result for the team. Ferrari comes first.”

Mekies feels the team orders are clear as far as their drivers are concerned, which means the best team result is a priority over driver positions. The Ferrari engineer revealed they will prioritize their driver championship contender depending on the position in the championship at some point in the season. However, there was no clear indicator as to whether Charles Leclerc had a preference over Carlos Sainz before the summer break.

Clarifying the team’s stance on the driver’s championship, Mekies added:

“Then of course there will be a point where we will need to focus more on a driver compared to the other one if the championship position is requiring. So, it does not mean waiting for the mathematical difference, but it means being at the point of the season where you think it is the right thing to do so.”

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Ferrari believe they are under intense pressure but are taking it positively

With a wide gap in the drivers’ and the constructors' championship, Mekies admitted to being under pressure post the summer break. Having lost some valuable points in the last few races before the break, the Prancing Horse race director also admitted that their reliability issues were a challenge.

Commenting on the championship battle ahead, Mekies said:

"We've lost quite a few points this year. We have reliability issues, we have a few things that we need to be better at. And yes, we are working extremely hard on it. It does not increase the pressure, because the pressure is maximum all the time because it's a competitive world, and that's the way we like it anyway. But it's a positive pressure, it's what pushes us to improve race after race.”

In the drivers' championship, Max Verstappen leads Charles Leclerc by a whopping margin of 80 points. In the constructors' championship, Red Bull Racing leads the Italian outfit by 97 points. Although the constructor’s title is a smaller margin to narrow, they are also being closely contested by Mercedes for second place due to their latest subpar results.