Although the F1-75 car proved to be the fastest on the streets of Monte Carlo last weekend, Scuderia Ferrari missed out on the race win due to a series of questionable pit stop decisions, Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto feels the Italian side made a correct strategic call for the second part of the Monaco Grand Prix, which unfortunately was not enough to recover after the time lost in the first half of the race.
The Maranello team secured a great one-two finish in the qualifying session on Saturday and kept P1 and P2 with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz after the start, but some unfortunate calls with their pit-stop strategy resulted in Carlos losing the victory to Sergio Perez, while Charles having to settle for fourth place.
The result was particularly bad for the Monegasque driver, who had led during the opening stages of his home race, but once again lost points against his title rival Max Verstappen.
During the days after the Monaco Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari have carried out a detailed analysis of what happened in those key laps when the track was getting more and more dry.
At the same time, one area in which Mattia Binotto believes that his side got things right was in call to remain on the same set of Pirelli Hard tyres after the second red flag of the race, which was brought out due to the crash suffered by Ferrari junior Mick Schumacher on Lap 24.
This was a different call to what Red Bull made, as both Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen continued the race on the Medium compound, which didn’t prove to be the best option, but was still enough to allow them to defend their positions given the track layout in Monaco.
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When asked to comment on the thinking behind this decision made by Ferrari, Mattia Binotto explained:
“I think the main reason [was] because I think we were right, in that respect, that the Medium would have had graining. [We believed that] the Hard tyres were a lot more resilient and would have given us some opportunity at the end of the stint, and I think [this] is what happened. Obviously, once they [Red Bull] got clear graining, they were slowing down significantly. We know in Monaco it is still very difficult to overtake, but I think that the Hard tyres were the right choice. It would have been a rolling start anyhow, so you do not have the benefit of the start, and you’re not on the first lap.” – the Ferrari boss concluded.
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