Formula 1 Hungarian GP

Ferrari: Sainz right to question F1 strategy during Hungarian GP

Mattia Binotto took no issue with how Carlos Sainz questioned Ferrari’s Formula 1 strategy calls in Hungary on Sunday, saying the two-way debate was proof of good communication.

Jonathan Noble Jonathan Noble

Edited: Aug 7, 2021, 2:12 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF21, Fernando Alonso, Alpine A521

Sainz recovered from a crash in qualifying to rise from 14th to sixth in the early stages of Sunday's race following the crashes at Turn 1 and the subsequent red flag.

As the Ferrari driver found himself struggling behind Yuki Tsunoda and cars behind started to pit for the undercut, the team gave him the call to box. But Sainz stressed that he had enough pace still and needed to stay out, with the team allowing him to do so.

Tsunoda pitted soon after and released Sainz into clean air, allowing the Spaniard to carve into the gap ahead of him and get the overcut on the AlphaTauri driver as well as Williams' Nicholas Latifi.

It set Sainz up to ultimately finish the race fourth on-track, which later became third following Sebastian Vettel's disqualification from second place.

Asked if he felt at all worried that Sainz had questioned the strategy, Ferrari F1 boss Binotto said there were "no misjudgements" in the strategy, but that it was good they had the discussion and that Sainz made his thoughts known.

"These are conclusions that we are reaching together, so it's our way of approaching, [by] having an open discussion on the radio, making sure that in certain conditions we are reaching the right conclusion," Binotto said.

"I think we had always good strategies, which have been applied not only thanks to the strategist but thanks to the contribution of the drivers, who are the ones driving the car, and knowing the conditions around the track.

"So I don't think it's a misjudgment, because the final call has been done by the strategist. The driver has suggested what was his impression being there, we review our simulation, or our evaluations, [and] we concluded that was the right choice.

"So, overall, [I am] happy [with] the way that this communication is working. And that's showing how the team is properly working."

Read Also:

Sainz felt that such debates over the radio were part of his "natural progression" of learning and building his understanding within Ferrari.

"At that point, neither the team or I expected to be so fast on the overcut that I did to these two drivers," Sainz said.

"I was just very keen on transmitting to them by doing an extra lap that I was, I was going to be very quick. By taking that extra lap, I think we did the right call. The team agreed with me, and, in the end, we did I think the right call.

"We overcut the two guys by doing very good pace, so [I'm] happy that we keep learning together.

"This is the kind of thing that [comes with] more races with the team. We are just going to become stronger, and it's going to be easier to perform at a higher level once we get to know each other better."

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Red Bull "will come out fighting" after F1 break, says Horner

Next article The boomerang tweaks behind McLaren's latest F1 upgrade

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

2 h

Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”

Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

3 h

Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP

How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Talladega II

3 h

How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV

Peterson Racing addresses online abuse after parting ways with Austin Green

NASCAR O'Reilly

NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly

Talladega II

3 h

Peterson Racing addresses online abuse after parting ways with Austin Green

Feature

Discover prime content

Max Verstappen’s words explained: Why Red Bull’s turnaround is so different this time

Formula 1

United States GP

By Ronald Vording

Max Verstappen’s words explained: Why Red Bull’s turnaround is so different this time

Mission control: Inside the FIA and F1's latest answer to football's VAR

Formula 1

United States GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Mission control: Inside the FIA and F1's latest answer to football's VAR

How Kimi Antonelli levelled up his character to be F1 2026's world champion-elect

Formula 1

United States GP

By Filip Cleeren

How Kimi Antonelli levelled up his character to be F1 2026's world champion-elect

Why Oscar Piastri has struggled to show his best with this year's McLaren MCL40

Formula 1

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Why Oscar Piastri has struggled to show his best with this year's McLaren MCL40

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts