Carlos Sainzhe ended up very angry Austrian Grand Prix after having to abide by the team order of Ferrari to stay behind charles leclerc in the early laps of the race. Then a chain of actions was unleashed that ended with the man from Madrid finishing sixth.
The ’55’ did not hide the annoyance he had with the decisions made: “Obviously I am not very happy. After holding on behind Charles as we had agreed, losing six or seven seconds and three positions for a pit stop… I don’t want to say that you look like a fool, but After doing teamwork this happened to you…“.
Since then, the controversy has been increasing to the point that several Italian media claimed that Ferrari had been “unfair” with the man from Madrid. And upon the arrival of the teams to Silverstonewas still the hot topic for the Scuderia.
Thus, Frederic Vasseur, head of the Ferrari team, settled the issue in the preview of the free practice of the British GP: “I spoke with Carlos once back in Manarello. The strategy was clear from the beginning, the goal was to make the biggest gap possible with the rivals behind us.”
“The problem for Carlos was that in the pitlane he had to wait for Charles’ tire change, which was two seconds slower than expected, then his was not flawless either, and finally the virtual safety car ended when he was coming out of the pits. “, he added.
Of course, Vasseur does not hold a grudge against Sainz’s words: “No driver in the world is happy when he is behind his teammatebut the plans were clear.”
Now, it remains to be seen if those same team orders will be applied in the same way if necessary at Silverstone.
