Sainz and Binotto defend themselves against criticisms made towards the Scuderia

The decisions of the Scuderia pit wall have been subject to criticism throughout the 2022 season. Particularly due to questionable tire changes that were perceived as untimely pit stops, which continued to hinder the fight for the championship. All of this was further undermined by significant reliability issues and accidents.

During the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend, for example, Charles Leclerc was discussing the mid-race strategy on the team radio before making a pit stop on the penultimate lap as a late attempt to snatch the fastest lap point away from leader Max Verstappen.

However, the Monegasque was then dropped behind Fernando Alonso in the battle for fifth place and had to complete one final lap before falling back to sixth place due to a 5-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

Mattia Binotto declared on Sunday evening that there was a difference between the perception of Ferrari’s strategy by people outside the team and the reality of the situation.

The team’s boss added: « If I do a season recap, I think there are many perceptions from the outside that are completely different from what is reality. I think that sometimes, we don’t make mistakes, but some perceive these decisions as a mistake. »

Carlos Sainz supports Binotto.

The winner of the British Grand Prix has the same feeling, stating that people are quicker to jump on Ferrari’s case compared to the teams he has previously driven for in F1.

Speaking on Thursday during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, Sainz said about Ferrari’s strategy: “It is very difficult to generalize, saying that we should have taken more risks or been more cautious. For me, it’s about continuous improvement and constantly finding ways to make the right decisions at the right time.”

The Spanish person added that no one was speaking up to congratulate Ferrari when she successfully implemented her strategy.

He continued: « There have been many times throughout the year where we made the right choices and no one came to tell us, “Oh, you made the right strategy” or congratulate us for it. »

I find that people are tougher on Ferrari. I have the impression that when I was at McLaren, Toro Rosso or at Renault, when there was a big mistake, nobody would come and point it out and criticize or belittle you as much as they do at Ferrari.

It is true that Ferrari receives much more criticism for its failed strategies than other teams, but midfield teams are not fighting for the championship title, and these mistakes are even more unacceptable when a team has one of the best cars and is competing for the driver’s and constructor’s championship titles.