Scuderia Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has admitted that the memory of Michael Schumacher’s win in the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix at the A1-Ring in Spielberg represents a factor taken into consideration when deciding to allow Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to fight each other in this first part of the 2022 Formula One season.
Mattia Binotto and Ferrari chief strategist Ińaki Rueda have come under fire a few times this F1 championship due to some strategy decisions that were far from ideal and allowed Red Bull to gain a solid advantage in both standings, ahead of the French Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc was especially disappointed with the Maranello team’s strategic calls in Monaco and at Silverstone: on both occasions, the Monegasque driver was leading the race but ended up outside the podium due to some questionable pit stop timings.
In the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were involved in a direct fight in the first laps, a situation that allowed Max Verstappen to secure an easy win at the Red Bull Ring. Ahead of the French Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc has a big gap over his Maranello teammate in the Drivers’ standings, due to the Spaniard’s unfortunate power unit failure in the Austrian Grand Prix, leaving the Monégasque 37 points ahead of Carlos Sainz and 38 behind Max Verstappen.
When asked about his decision to allow his drivers to fight each other even with the risk of helping Red Bull, Mattia Binotto explained: “First, what we are trying to do is maximise the team points at each race. Obviously, the two championships are too close, so by maximising the team points, I’m pretty sure as well we are maximising the drivers’ opportunity by taking points from their opponents. And the opponents should not be Charles for Carlos and Carlos for Charles, but certainly Max, Lewis [Hamilton] and the others, so that’s the way we see it.” – the Ferrari boss said.
Expanding further on the Maranello team’s thinking on this matter, the Ferrari team principal pointed out that each situation in which Charles or Carlos is favoured will be taken on a race-by-race basis until the championship dictates otherwise.
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“The fastest car on track is the one which is prioritised, and we believe by doing so, certainly at this time of the championship, it’s the best thing we can do. If, later in the championship, one of the two drivers gets most of the opportunities, certainly we will try to give him full priority but it’s not the situation right now. So we need to cope with it, and I’m pretty happy to see those two drivers fighting.” – he added.
At the same time, Mattia Binotto is aware that the matter of team orders is often a no-win situation when it comes to the reactions from the fans and media, highlighting what happened 20 years ago in Austria. On that occasion, Rubens Barrichello was heading to an easy win at the A1-Ring, but was asked to slow down on the final lap and allow Michael Schumacher to take the race win on the last few meters, leading to roars of disapproval from the fans:
“I know that when there are team orders everybody’s blaming us because we should have a free fight. But when we allow a free fight you should have team orders, so whatever you’re doing is always wrong. And I remember 20 years ago in Austria – I heard the booing from the grandstands because I was here – so it’s always delicate, and every single person after a race knows how we should deal with situations. But again, what we are trying to do is maximise the team points, which I’m pretty sure is the right choice.” – the Ferrari boss concluded.
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