After surging into an early lead in each championships below the brand new F1 laws for 2022, Ferrari has seen its hopes fade after falling behind Max Verstappen and Crimson Bull within the standings.
Leclerc sits 80 factors behind Verstappen within the drivers’ championship forward of the ultimate 9 races, having misplaced floor with retirements in Spain and Azerbaijan, in addition to spinning out whereas main in France. Ferrari is 97 factors adrift of Crimson Bull on the prime of the constructors’ standings.
Ferrari has been requested recurrently this 12 months whether or not it could look to prioritise Leclerc and use Sainz to help the Monegasque’s title hopes, just for the staff to all the time stress it was too early to make such concerns.
Requested by Motorsport.com about Ferrari’s method to staff orders this 12 months, sporting director Laurent Mekies felt extra was being fabricated from the difficulty externally than it’s at Maranello.
“You are proper in saying that it’s extra mentioned outdoors Ferrari than inside Ferrari,” mentioned Mekies.
“However extra significantly, we now have all the time been very clear. We goal to have the very best end result for the staff. Ferrari comes first.
“Then after all there will probably be some extent the place we might want to focus extra on a driver in comparison with the opposite one if the championship place is requiring.
“So, it doesn’t imply ready for the mathematical distinction, however it means being on the level of the season the place you suppose it’s the proper factor to take action.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari F1-75
Photograph by: Ferrari
Sainz managed to attain his maiden F1 victory on the British Grand Prix in July, passing Leclerc after a security automotive restart when Ferrari cut up methods and opted to pit Sainz for contemporary tyres.
The staff confronted criticism for its technique calls in Hungary after squandering Leclerc’s lead midway via the race by becoming him with arduous tyres, inflicting him to slide all the best way again to sixth place.
Ferrari had defended its technique only one race earlier in France, when it needed to pit Sainz within the closing levels to serve a penalty and take a contemporary set of tyres when radio messages recommended there was confusion on the pit wall. https://www.autosport.com/f1/information/ferrari-defends-french-gp-strategy-calls-despite-sainz-radio-doubts/10343184/
Mekies mentioned the delay in broadcasting the radio messages to Sainz at Paul Ricard was a great instance of “how completely different conditions could be seen inside and out of doors groups,” and that the perceived confusion was “merely the results of the radio message being broadcast 30 or 40 seconds after what had actually occurred.”
“Should you had to return there, you’ll name Carlos again precisely as we did and do the pit cease precisely as we did, so it simply exhibits how troublesome these days, in a fancy sport, it’s to grasp the explanations behind a method or one other,” Mekies mentioned.
“That being mentioned, we have misplaced fairly a number of factors this 12 months. We now have reliability points, we now have a number of issues that we must be higher at. And sure, we’re working extraordinarily arduous on it.
“It doesn’t enhance the strain, as a result of the strain is most on a regular basis as a result of it is a aggressive world, and that is the best way we prefer it anyway.
“However it’s a optimistic strain, it is what pushes us to enhance race after race.”