Ferrari’s call to bring in Charles Leclerc for intermediaries
Pierre Gasly was the first driver to change from wet tires to intermediaries. And his pace massively improved, so teams realized that inter was the tire to be on. However, as Monaco is hard to overtake, Ferrari wanted to retain their position and kept both Leclerc and Sainz out.
While the Italian team had something to play for, Red Bull took a gamble. The Milton-Keynes outfit called in Perez during lap 17 and changed his tires to inter. It worked to perfection as he started closing down the gap. As a result, Ferrari pitted Leclerc for intermediaries soon.
😎 Admin 🤜🤛 @Charles_Leclerc 😎#essereFerrari 🔴 pic.twitter.com/3Cx7AcFqIK
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) June 3, 2022
Team strategist Inaki Rueda revealed they predicted the Monegasque will come out of the pits one second ahead of Perez. But that was not the case, as the Mexican was quicker than they expected. So, he went ahead of the Ferrari driver. This is where the Prancing Horses lost their race with Leclerc.
While all this blunder unfolded, Carlos Sainz stood firm. He stayed out and took the lead of the race. Further, he conveyed to his team that the strategy was to change from wet to slick tires as the track started drying out.
Another #MonacoGP trophy in the cabinet for @CarlosSainz55 🤘
Not quite the gold one, but he came so close 🤏#essereFerrari 🔴 pic.twitter.com/6sfWBbHj24
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) May 30, 2022
Ferrari’s call to bring in Charles Leclerc for intermediaries
Although Leclerc lost his lead as a result of the first pit stop, he still had the podium place covered. Further, Sainz was leading the race and a double podium was possible. This was crucial, as the Maranello outfit could have closed the gap at the top.
As the track dried up, it was time for the Spaniard to pit to slick tires. Ferrari, however, brought Leclerc as well in an attempt to undercut Perez and secure 1-2. But, as things turned out, the Monegasque came behind Verstappen in P4 as the pit stop took longer than expected.
Also Check: F1’s world racing champion, Max Verstappen says he ‘might stop’
Speaking of the incident, Rueda said, “The gap in between our cars was 5 seconds. It was time for a doppio, a double pit stop. A comfortable doppio is done 6 seconds in between the cars, but we thought 5 and a half seconds might be enough.”
“We had made a last-second attempt to try and tell Charles to stay out, but it was too late. He had already veered into the pit lane. In this doppio, Charles lost two seconds. That was crucial.”
