The Spaniard’s win at Silverstone has shown his willingness to turn around the established order and perhaps pursue much more
The Formula 1 British Grand Prix was a before and after for Ferrari. They won despite being very close to giving away the win because of that absurd and already predictable chaos they can generate on their own when they have to make decisions. To paraphrase Heath Ledger’s Joker, they’re like a dog chasing a car, when they catch it they don’t know what to do.
The most commented-on sentence on Sunday in which Carlos Sainz became the 112th driver to win a Formula 1 race was a statement of intent: “Stop inventing”, or “stop inventing”. Sainz, in an act of rebellion that served to free himself from that “barrichellization” or “massisación” to which he had been sentenced, disobeyed a direct order from his team, asking him to sacrifice his options to give priority to Charles Leclerc.
The action has its content. Forced by circumstances, Leclerc could not have stopped in the pits to fit new soft tires as his team-mates Sainz and Lewis Hamilton did. The Spaniard was lucky that the safety car caused by the abandonment of Esteban Ocon caught him at just the optimum moment, so Ferrari acted quickly with him. The problem is that Hamilton, in what may have been his best weekend for pure speed, did the same. The Spanish driver started second behind Leclerc, with the seven-time champion behind and the safety car still on track.
Iñaki Rueda, Ferrari’s head of strategy (not very kindly christened ‘stratego’), had a decision to make. “Leave ten cars ahead with Leclerc,” Sainz was asked. They ordered him to give up a possible first win in Formula 1 to defend the options of his partner, who saw a perfect scenario to save points due to Verstappen’s mechanical problems. What is incomprehensible is that Rueda, with the knowledge of those responsible for Ferrari, did not see this shooting itself in the foot.
Leclerc was on hard tires that are already much less competitive than the soft ones, especially when the track wasn’t hot enough for the red tires to wear out to be a hazard. This lecture was clear to all but those responsible for the Ferrari wall, so Sainz had to choose: bow his head and obey, knowing he had little chance of defending himself against Hamilton and that he would probably sell himself too. Leclerc, or rebel and hope for a victory that could calm the predictably turbulent waters that could lead to that decision. The answer was the second, Leclerc had to give in and finished on the podium.
As much as the Monegask complained that he was not prioritized in strategy and that Sainz did not follow the orders of the team, the reality is that if the Spaniard had not taken over the situation by skipping discipline, Maranello’s clocks might not have been. would have clocked
“You have to calm down,” Mattia Binotto told an enraged Leclerc as soon as he got out of the car. The Ferrari leader (who still is) finally bit his tongue and when his heart rate dropped he was happy for his teammate. The good atmosphere between the two Ferrari drivers remains, at least for now, although the situation could change from now on.
If Sainz starts to become a worthy rival for Leclerc and goes from fighting for podiums to fighting for wins, with the approval of a Max Verstappen who was unlucky (it’s already bad luck being part of an AlphaTauri, Team B of Red Bull, who sneaks into the flat bottom of his car and puts a lot of strain on him throughout the race), will be a serious setback for peace within the Italian team.
The consequences will be seen in the coming days until the Austrian Grand Prix, which starts immediately. Charles Leclerc has already publicly asked for a “global view” of the strategy to explain why it didn’t benefit him. Meanwhile, Sainz, no longer under the pressure to take his first win, is just 11 points behind him. Beware of the change of rhythm that can be on the Maranello dance floor.
Source: La Verdad
I’m an experienced news author and editor based in New York City. I specialize in covering healthcare news stories for Today Times Live, helping to keep readers informed on the latest developments related to the industry. I have a deep understanding of medical topics, including emerging treatments and drugs, the changing laws that regulate healthcare providers, and other matters that affect public health.
