Despite Carlos Sainz’s first race victory in Formula 1, the atmosphere at Scuderia Ferrari was tense after the British Grand Prix. Because: Due to a mistake in strategy, a possible double victory was thrown away, so Charles Leclerc missed the podium. Some of the employees are said to have been so angry that they even considered a boycott.
Did some of the Ferrari mechanics want to stay away from the award ceremony for their driver Carlos Sainz as a protest? At least that’s what the former spokesman for the Italians claims in a post on the portal “formulapassion.it“.
Referring to a well-informed source at Ferrari, Alberto Antonini writes: “I was told – and I trust the source – an unpleasant episode that took place in the winner’s garage immediately after the Silverstone race. Part of the Ferrari workforce is said to be at least initially refused to attend the award ceremony, where the usual photos are taken.”
A statement that certainly has explosive character. “If that’s true, as I’m afraid, that’s not a good sign,” said the ex-employee. “A bit of healthy rivalry in the pits is fine, every mechanic and every technician has to cheer on ‘their’ driver. But the common interest has to be to drive for victory.”
Questionable decision brings Leclerc to victory
It seems that Leclerc’s mechanics have now reached a point where the frustration has become too great. In Spain and Azerbaijan the drive went on strike, in Monaco and Silverstone the team’s mistakes paved the way to success – and in Montreal the title candidate had to start from the end of the field due to an engine change.
Ferrari’s questionable decision in Great Britain ultimately prevented the faster of the two drivers from winning the race, so that the lead of World Championship competitor Max Verstappen over Charles Leclerc is still large.
Because: When the safety car came towards the end of the race, Ferrari left leader Leclerc out on hard tires and stopped Carlos Sainz to switch to the soft compound – a strategy shared by almost all other drivers in the field.
After the race, Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto explained that the team did not want to pit their cars one after the other and therefore left Leclerc out because he was in a better position on the track and also had younger tires than Sainz. However, Leclerc was passed at the restart and only finished fourth. The laughing winner was his teammate Carlos Sainz, of all people.