Why Ferrari did not bet on the rain while pitting Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz during the 2023 F1 Monaco GP

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur recently said that the team was not sure of the incoming rain, which is why they chose to box their drivers prematurely at the Monaco GP. The Scuderia made yet another strategic error in Monaco, leading to a disappointing result for both drivers.

The Maranello-based team had a poor outing in Monaco, failing to impress in terms of pace and strategy. Sainz was heard complaining about the team's lack of clarity on the radio, expressing his frustration while driving on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Charles Leclerc was left out for longer than his teammate, but was told not to extend his stint and wait for the rain. Extending his stint would have given him a better chance when the rain eventually arrived. Leclerc ended with a P6 finish while Sainz finished P8 in Monaco.

Ferrari was forced to double-stack its drivers at the end of the race, causing Carlos Sainz to lose valuable track position. Speaking about Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz's premature pitstops, Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur told the media:

"At that point in the race we had to stop to cover the others and not lose positions. We didn't want to stretch based on the weather forecast. In retrospect it is always easy to relive the race. At that point we didn't know if it would actually rain and we risked losing the position on our opponents. The same goes for Carlos. He opened up on the radio asking why we hadn't stretched, but we were in a situation where we risked losing the place to Hamilton."

Red Bull boss expected Ferrari to be stronger in Monaco

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner expected Ferrari to exhibit greater pace in the 2023 F1 Monaco GP.

Acknowledging the SF-23's speed advantage over a single lap rather than throughout an entire race, Horner believed that Ferrari would excel in the challenging conditions of the Principality, where overtaking is extremely difficult. However, Ferrari's performance did not align with these predictions.

During an interview with Sky Sports, Horner talked about the specific challenges that the track in Monaco poses. He also mentioned that the team was concerned about the Scuderia and expected them to be their main rival. He said:

“We were on the ropes here. We knew coming here that it was going to be our biggest challenge in the first half of the year here, and the low-speed nature, we thought Ferrari would be the main opponent, but Fernando has been on fire all weekend.”

With Ferrari set to bring major upgrades at the Spanish GP, it will be interesting to watch the two teams battle it out.