Fifth Charles Leclerc, sixth Carlos Sainz. This is the final result of the Mexican GP that left a bad taste in Ferrari’s mouth. The Maranello team expected much more performances from the Monegasque and Spaniard’s SF21s on the track named after the Rodriguez brothers, but in the end there are more regrets than smiles in the Red box.
Leclerc struggled all weekend, while Sainz seemed more in tune with his car, but both failed to stay ahead of the AlphaTauri of a wild Pierre Gasly increasingly top driver.
At the end of the race Mattia Binotto, connected by Maranello with Sky Sport F1 HD, wanted to express his impressions on a race that was thought to have a different outcome.
“I was hoping this was a track where we could express ourselves at our best, but both yesterday and today we had two difficult days. We tried in every way to catch Gasly, but we didn’t succeed ”.
Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF21
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
However, the Scuderia team principal tried to look at the glass as half full by analyzing the overtaking of McLaren in the Constructors’ standings.
“It was a useful race for the championship. We are now 13.5 points clear of McLaren and in this final part of the season our goal is third place in the Constructors. We have been ahead of them for 3 races now and this bodes well for the season finale ”.
Binotto then wanted to praise the work done by both the team and the riders this weekend. Although the final result is not to be remembered, tire changes were finally seen without hesitation and the two drivers were good at the start to stay away from the chaos caused by Bottas’ spin.
“The team worked well both with the pit stops, after a few bad episodes, and with the strategy, stopping Charles early to force Gasly to make an early stop and give Carlos free rein.”
“Carlos and Charles were very careful at the start so as not to be involved in an accident and this prudence allowed us to score points today.”
The strategy adopted by Ferrari made many turn up their noses. At the beginning of the race it was immediately clear that Leclerc, unlike Sainz, did not have the pace to undermine Gasly but from the pit wall he did not intervene only to ask for a change of positions when it was too late: on lap 55.
Binotto explained what the problems suffered by the Monegasque were and what the agreed strategy was.
“With the harsh conditions Charles accused of graining on the front left which only cleared up in the last laps. At the table we had decided that one of the two riders would stop early while the other would go long to have the advantage of a fresher tire in the final ”.
“It was decided that if one of the two riders reassembled the other he would not oppose and would leave the road free. If he had not managed to close the gap from those who preceded us, the positions would have been reversed again ”.
With the Mexican GP, a hat-trick has begun which will see the teams involved next week in Brazil and between two weekends in Qatar. A considerable effort for all the men and women of Ferrari who work behind the scenes and to whom Binotto wanted to pay due homage.
“For the team, a hat-trick at the end of the season, after 20 races, is a tiring commitment. It is hard for everyone to stay away from home for a long time and always have to respect the safety protocols in force today. I want to thank the guys for their commitment ”.
“The fact remains that Formula 1 must be thanked for being able to organize a championship with 22 races and the teams for always being ready and prepared”.
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