Former Formula 1 champion and current Sky Sports F1 analyst Nico Rosberg believes that ‘even Formula 3 teams could do a better job’ than Ferrari after another series of mistakes that affected the Maranello team’s chances, this time in the Dutch Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc took a third place finish after starting the Zandvoort race in second place, while Carlos Sainz had a race to forget, mainly due to two incidents in the pitlane.
The Spaniard started the Dutch Grand Prix from third place, right behind his Maranello teammate, but struggled for pace on soft tyres in the opening stages. One possible reason may also be damage from the contact with Lewis Hamilton at the race start.
The Spanish driver’s first pit stop was made under normal green-flag conditions after the stint on soft tyres. Carlos was running third and was keeping Lewis Hamilton behind, despite the fact that the W13 car had a clearly better race pace. However, Ferrari did not seem ready for the Spaniard, as the mechanics raced from the garage when he approached the pit box.
The confusion led to only three wheels being ready and almost 13 seconds lost as Carlos Sainz had to wait for the fourth tyre to arrive and be mounted on his F1-75 car.
Asked about this last operational issue for Ferrari, Nico Rosberg said in an interview for Sky Sports F1: “Oh my goodness, and Mattia Binotto keeps saying ‘No, we don’t need to make any changes. Everything is going well’. I mean, when is the day coming? It’s not possible. Even Formula 2 or Formula 3 teams do a better job at their strategy and pit stops than Ferrari. You go into the pit and there are no tyres there in a normal race? At some point, they really need to start making some changes.” – the former Mercedes driver pointed out.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection from Puma! Enter the online Puma Store and shop securely! And get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
Carlos Sainz’s race went from bad to worse after he received a five-second penalty due to an unsafe release at a later pit stop. However, by watching the replies, it is clear that Carlos had to slow down to avoid some McLaren mechanics, making it more an unfortunate moment than a mistake from the Maranello team:
“Beyond that, their car is just a little bit off the pace now and in the races especially,” added Nico Rosberg – “We saw it at Spa and we saw it again here, so they are starting to lose out. They need to make sure they keep developing the car as well in the right direction.” – the former F1 driver concluded.
Buy official Ferrari F1 products!
Leave a Reply