"We had to make a choice" - Ferrari team boss reveals why the team pitted Carlos Sainz but not Charles Leclerc under the safety car at the 2022 F1 British GP

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto believes they had no choice but to pit Carlos Sainz instead of Charles Leclerc at the 2022 F1 British GP when the safety car was out. The Italian was defiant that there was no time window to execute a double-stacked pitstop so that both their drivers could capitalize on a good result.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Binotto explained their strategy for Leclerc, saying:

“As far as we believe, we didn’t think we had enough space between the two cars to stop both of them, so we had to make a choice between the first and the second car. So we decided to stop Carlos in P2 because Charles had got the track position. He was leading and remained leader of the race at that time. You don’t know what the others would have done if you’d stopped as a leader. For us it was clear, not stopping Charles and keeping track position, and stopping Carlos which was the only one we could have stopped. And then we were hoping for more tyre degradation on the soft, sadly that didn’t happen.”

Binotto explained that they left Leclerc out without a pitstop on 12-lap-old hard tires to maintain track position and pit Sainz because he was the only one who could have been pitted. The Ferrari team principal felt it was difficult to anticipate how others were going to react and respond to the pitstops, and there was therefore only enough of a time window to pit one of the cars. Their odd strategy cost Leclerc the win and a potential podium as he succumbed to Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton.

Asked if it was possible to pit Leclerc and make Sainz back the others, Binotto said:

“We thought not, as simple as that. Because the others were just behind and you cannot lose any not even a second at the pitstop trying to organise it. So, it was clear we keep track position with Charles and stop Carlos. Obviously, we (have) the insight now (that) being on soft would have been better but that’s not what we thought was the right decision.”

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Ferrari team boss revealed details of his conversation with Charles Leclerc in parc fermé

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto revealed that no instructions were being given to Charles Leclerc as they spoke in parc fermé when he got out of the car. Instead, Binotto explained that he was praising the Monegasque for his brilliant race and asking him to remain positive and motivated despite the loss.

Asked if he was instructing Leclerc not to express his disappointment in public and assuring him that they would sort it out internally, the Italian replied:

“No there is nothing to sort out internally. It was simply to tell him - ‘I understand your disappointment but you did a fantastic race today’. Fighting at the start, fighting later on when he was on hard and others were on soft, the way he was driving and protecting the position was amazing. So, obviously being happy is difficult, but staying calm and being positive is important.”

Commenting on Sainz's performance and his ability to deliver for the team, the Ferrari boss said:

“I think the strengths of Carlos [Sainz], always being there, trying to be there and get the opportunity. So, in the quali maybe the other two made mistakes, but he did a consistent lap and he made pole. So that’s his strength, be consistent till the end till the checkered flag and get the opportunity when the opportunity is coming. And for him I’m really very happy because it’s his first victory. While that was important for him with Ferrari so even more important, so I’m very pleased and I think he deserved it.”

In a race where Max Verstappen was running outside the top 5 and finished 7th, it was critically important for Ferrari to capitalize on a top-two finish to make up the deficit to Red Bull. With Leclerc being the Dutchman’s immediate contender, his strategy and results were very important. With the current result, Leclerc is still 43 points behind Verstappen, with his teammate Sainz trailing him by 11 points in the drivers' championship.