Fourth Charles Leclerc, seventh Carlos Sainz. This is the results achieved by Ferrari on the Montmelò track at the end of a race masterfully led by the Monegasque driver and instead more painful for Carlos.
Charles Leclerc was the author of a textbook start and made the most of the chaos generated by Verstappen’s overtaking at Hamilton in Turn 1 to pass Bottas outside Turn 3 and take third place. Charles, in an SF21 certainly not up to the standard of Mercedes, was able to keep the Finn behind him until Mercedes used the undercut and called Bottas to the pit early.
Could they have copied Mercedes’ strategy at Ferrari? Mattia Binotto, who was interviewed at the end of the race by Sky Sport F1 HD, explained the events of the Grand Prix and highlighted the talent of the Monegasque driver:
“Charles has always been extraordinary in hand-to-hand combat, in defending himself, in finding the gap. He made a great start again today and was able to keep Bottas behind throughout the stint. We knew that our race was not able to match Mercedes and when Valtteri stopped we continued with our strategy.” – he explained.
Mattia Binotto, however, in addition to underlining the great work done by his drivers, wanted to give the whole team credit for today’s result, highlighting how last year for Ferrari the Spanish GP ended with lapped cars (even if today a safety car affected the final gaps).
“Charles had a great race. He had a good start and good management, but the progress of the team must also be recognized. This is a result of the team, not just of the drivers. We knew it was going to be a tough race due to tire degradation, but it was handled well by both the engineers and the drivers. Last year they lapped us here, progress is evident. Car definitely improved, behaves well. Credit to the whole team. It would be nice to hear more positive comments towards the team from some of the media. Good attitude shown.” – the Ferrari boss concluded.
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