Ferrari and the one-stop strategy: how Carlos Sainz helped Charles Leclerc win at Monza. How Carlos Sainz helped Charles Leclerc win at Monza.

Scuderia Ferrari won against all expectations in the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit thanks to the one-stop strategy. The Prancing Horse achieved a truly “miraculous” feat that caught McLaren by surprise.

While Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris made two pit stops, the two Ferrari drivers stopped only once. Carlos Sainz revealed how Ferrari managed to make this strategy work, which ultimately led Charles Leclerc to victory at the Monza GP.

“I think it was in the 10-15 laps or so of the second stint when we realized that the degradation on the hards wasn’t huge,” explained the Spaniard to the media.

“As soon as the others stopped, the tires were almost worn out. And then, for some reason, Charles and I entered a phase of high degradation on the hards. Then, miraculously, they recovered. And that’s what allowed us to make it to the end,” he continued.

Driver #55 pointed out that there was a moment in the race when tire management was critical, but the last ten laps were decisive: “We maintained a decent pace until the end.”

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur added that the Maranello team had to choose between making one or two stops. And it was Carlos Sainz who first realized that the one-stop strategy would work.

“In this kind of race with 53 laps, you can think about making one stop. While in some cases, you might think about making two. Carlos anticipated a bit more that we could make it with just one stop. Perhaps unconsciously, you think that and push a little less,” said the team principal at the end of the Italian Grand Prix.

Source: f1ingenerale