Carlos Sainz started from the back of the grid in the 2022 Formula 1 French Grand Prix race, but managed to work his way up to third position with a good pace, taking advantage of the safety car caused by the accident of his teammate, Charles Leclerc .
However, after moving up to third after a tough duel with Sergio Pérez , Ferrari called the Spaniard to pit and switch to a fresh set of medium tyres. The Spaniard returned to the track in ninth position, and went on to finish fifth , setting the fastest lap of the event at Paul Ricard.
For the boss of the Italian team, Mattia Binotto , that was the right decision, and he explained to F1TV his reasons once the race was over: “I think it was the right choice. We have waited to ensure a good evaluation of the useful life of the tyres, so we haven’t made a rash decision.
“The data on the duration of the tires showed us that we couldn’t finish the race with [those] means, it would have been too risky. Also, we don’t think [Sainz] managed to get far enough away from George [George] and ‘Checo’ [ Pérez], and he had a five-second penalty [for an unsafe release with Alex Albon coming out of the pits],” said the Swiss. “By stopping, at least he did the fastest lap, that was the best option we had.”
Sainz ‘s fifth place is a poor haul for Ferrari , considering the team was leading the race with Leclerc until the Monegasque lost control of his car at Turn 11 and crashed into the guards.
“I have spoken with him,” Binotto said. “I’m not talking about the accident, because there’s not much more to say about it. It’s a mistake, this happens. There may be engine reliability problems that cause retirements, you have to count on it.”
“Charles [Leclerc] has all our confidence, he is a fantastic driver, he has great potential,” he continued. “There are ten races left and I am sure he will do everything he can to try and recover from what happened. As a team we are supporting him as much as we can.”
Despite the frustration of leaving with very few points from a grand prix where Max Verstappen and Red Bull fell away in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships, Binotto analyzed the strengths that Ferrari had in Paul Ricard.
“I think if you look at this race there are a lot of positives. The first is the pace, the second is the tire degradation, I think we have a slight lead over the Red Bulls again,” he said. “That was important for us. Max [Verstappen] had to stop because he had degradation, we could have extended our first stop with Charles.”
“Carlos [Sainz] had a fantastic race today as well, starting from the back of the grid,” said Binotto. “He was patient at the start, overtaking car after car until he got to the top positions. Overall, we have a good package, we’ll be in Hungary in a week, and the important thing for us is to turn the page as soon as possible.”
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