After rightly praising Carlos Sainz following his splendid victory in the Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay street circuit, the Spanish press has accused Ferrari of sacrificing the Spaniard’s race during the second pit stop in Suzuka last weekend. While Charles Leclerc managed to get behind the two Mercedes relatively easily, aiming for Oscar Piastri in third place, his Maranello teammate’s comeback was only partially successful, as he lost the fifth position to Lewis Hamilton.
Did Ferrari really sacrifice Carlos Sainz’s race against the two Mercedes in Suzuka?
“It was predictable, and Carlos was always at a disadvantage compared to his teammate during the race, with postponed pit stops, as is expected for Ferrari and nearly everyone,” reads Marca’s comment on the two Ferraris’ race in Japan.
“There was just one small detail. The Maranello team could have concluded with both cars ahead of the two Mercedes, but they weren’t careful. When it was time for him to copy Hamilton’s strategy, on whom he had an advantage before the final pit stop of the race, they waited for three eternal laps to bring him in, which didn’t allow Carlos Sainz to keep the fifth position, which was very much achievable.”
The analysis of the Spanish newspaper can be partly agreeable. Indeed, Ferrari could have finished with both cars ahead of the two Mercedes. Still, on the other hand, speaking of “sacrifice” is perhaps a bit excessive.
“Ultimately, they pitted Charles to secure the position, while I was somewhat sacrificed,” said the Ferrari man at the end of the race, giving rise to the paragraph just mentioned.
However, speaking of sacrifice might be more appropriate in the context of the Marina Bay GP last week, when the Maranello team (rightly) put the team’s interests before Charles Leclerc’s, deciding to use him as a pawn to allow the teammate to win the race, as was the case.
Ferrari adopted Plan B strategy against Sainz
“Carlos made a brilliant start, overtaking Checo. But after Charles Leclerc’s defeat in Singapore, today (in Ferrari’s words) they would never have allowed Carlos to try an undercut if his higher speed hadn’t been more than evident,” Marca adds.
“Better circuits will come to see Sainz 2.0 again, who today, once more, had Plan B strategy. Hamilton’s undercut was possible after the team fell asleep during the second stop.”
In this case as well, referring to a “Plan B strategy” sounds a bit off, considering that every team always calls in the driver who is currently ahead. Moreover, Carlos Sainz himself requested to postpone the pit stop, knowing that he had already lost the position to Hamilton. If we want to assign any blame, Ferrari’s only mistake might have been calling him in one lap too late, which then didn’t allow him to attack the Englishman at the end.
The fact that Ferrari left Suzuka with 4 points gained over Mercedes is quite positive, considering the low expectations from the previous day.
On paper, the SF23 should have struggled significantly on the twisty Japanese circuit. This partially happened, but Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were still good at maximizing the result. Of course, if even for a fifth-place finish, attempts are made to sow discord within the team, it’s no wonder about the factions that have emerged and have been gripping Ferrari for the past year.
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