The rain caused chaos in Monaco with Max Verstappen hitting the wall, Lance Stroll hitting the barriers and Carlos Sainz spinning!
Charles Leclerc has defended Ferrari’s strategy decisions at the Monaco Grand Prix as rain caused damage midway through the race.
Leclerc and team-mate Carlos Sainz were among the last drivers to switch from dry to intermediate tyres, when rain poured down the streets of Monte Carlo with 25 laps to go.
Both drivers lost any chance of the podium as they finished sixth in the last eight.
“We have made mistakes in strategy before. I don’t think this is a mistake,” said Leclerc Sky Sports F1. “In those conditions, it’s more likely to have a safe car, with more cars running in the rain.
“So we waited for a safe car in the one that went wrong. That didn’t happen and that was it. With the benefit of hindsight, stopping then was the right decision.”
Sainz was surprised by the timing of the first pit stop
Sainz was frustrated on team radio after his first pit stop because he didn’t understand why Ferrari had fought him so early.
The Spaniard started on hard tires and reacted to the pit stop of Esteban Ocon, with whom he was fighting, by stopping on Lap 33 for mediums.
Carlos Sainz said he was surprised by his team’s decision at his first pit stop after a disappointing Monaco GP for Ferrari.
He came out behind the Alpine driver and was forced to double stack behind Leclerc after the race to switch intermediates.
“The first pit stop surprised me because I was too fast in the lap on the hard tire, thinking I would extend and overcut Esteban,” said Sainz. “We boxed and a second later I didn’t get it.
“When it came to the pit stop and it was raining, I thought we would use the hard for a little while. The second stop was a lap too late but that was probably my mistake, trying to recover the failure from the first stop by trying something different and I was wrong.”
Highlights of the Monaco Grand Prix in the sixth race of the season
Ferrari told Sainz to pit to stay ahead of Lewis Hamilton, but the 28-year-old said he “doesn’t care” about the Mercedes driver on team radio. Team principal Frederic Vasseur defended Ferrari’s decision to go head-to-head with Sainz when they did.
“I think it’s a good strategy because when we asked him to pit, it was to cover Hamilton. It was to avoid losing position against Hamilton,” said Vasseur.
“It is a good goal because the position is the key on the track. We would have been better to extend if we were not at risk from Hamilton. But in this situation, I think it is a good call.
“Then we will talk about when it will rain, this is a bet [gamble] from both sides but I don’t regret it because we didn’t lose positions at this stage.”
Vasseur apologized for the Leclerc grid penalty
Lando Norris explains what he thought happened when Charles Leclerc appeared to block him in the qualifying tunnel
Leclerc qualified third, but started sixth due to a three-grid place penalty for obstructing Lando Norris in Q3 on Saturday.
Norris was on a flying lap and encountered Leclerc in the tunnel, so his lap had to be aborted. The stewards consider Leclerc to be at fault and Vasseur says Ferrari will learn from the mistake.
“Under the tunnel, Charles can’t see in the mirror where Norris is, and if you tell him after the tunnel he can see where Norris is, and avoid being in the line. Also, the line under the tunnel is not. very clear ,” Vasseur explained.
“But obviously we made a mistake yesterday and it cost us because I think starting from P3 it could have been a different race, but we have to learn from it.”
The Ferrari boss added: “He’s been a bit disappointed in Monaco for a few years now and for sure Saturday will be difficult.
“It is difficult first to lose the pole position for a tenth or something like this, to lose the first row of the two hundred, and then the call.
“What more can I do than to apologize for the team and to understand how we can do a better job, and to improve the communication between the pit wall and Charles in this situation, but both you side.
“I think it’s also because of the circumstances in which it happened, in the tunnel and so on. However, we have to avoid looking for excuses because it’s the worst way if you want to improve, we just have to -correct.”
Does Ferrari have a fundamental strategy problem?
Twelve months ago, Ferrari were fighting for the title with Red Bull but their championship challenge slowly faded away when a run of reliability issues and strategy errors cost them crucial points. .
In the winter, their head of race strategy, Inaki Rueda, was moved to a factory role and Ravin Jain arrived.
Ahead of the Monaco GP weekend, Leclerc said Sky Sports F1by Martin Brundle that Ferrari is in a better position, strategically, compared to last year.
Asked about the 2022 mistake in Monaco’s strategy, which cost Leclerc the victory, the Monegasque replied: “Of course, you learn from mistakes and as a team, we have changed a lot in terms of making decisions.
“We’re in a much better place and I’m confident it won’t happen again.”
Sky Sports F1 live Spanish GP schedule
Thursday June 1
2pm: Drivers’ Price Conference
Friday June 2
8.50am: F3 practice
10:00 am: Practice F2
12pm: Spanish GP Practice One (session starts 12.30pm)
1.55pm: F3 Qualifying
2.50pm: F2 Qualifying
3.45pm: Spanish GP Practice Two (session starts 4pm)
5.15pm: The F1 Show: Spain
Saturday June 3rd
9:25 am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Spanish GP Practice Three (session starts 11.30am)
1:10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Building Qualifying at the Spanish GP
3pm: Spanish GP Qualifying
6.15pm: IndyCar – Detroit GP Qualifying
Sunday June 4
8:50am: F3 Feature Race
10.20am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Spanish GP build-up
2pm: THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX
4pm: Checkered Flag Spanish GP reaction
5.45pm: Indy NXT – Detroit GP
8pm: IndyCar – Detroit GP
Will Red Bull’s winning streak continue in F1 2023 at the Spanish GP? Watch all the action live on Sky Sports F1 from June 2-4 Taking over Sky Sports
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