Formula 1 Monaco GP
Sainz explains aggressive mindset behind Monaco F1 strategy anger
Carlos Sainz says having a more aggressive strategy mindset compared to his Ferrari Formula 1 team was behind his angry radio outburst in the Monaco Grand Prix.
Filip Cleeren
Edited: Jun 2, 2023, 12:55 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
During a dry first stint of a mixed-weather Monaco race, Sainz was wedged in between third-placed Esteban Ocon and Lewis Hamilton when the latter was called into the pits by Mercedes on lap 33.
Ferrari opted to respond by bringing Sainz in on the next lap to avoid an undercut by Hamilton.
But in doing so, it also gave up the possibility of challenging Ocon for third, which would have been Sainz's first podium of a tough 2023 season.
That caused an angry response from Sainz, who at the time thought Ferrari's call was "weak" as he was more interested in going for a podium than conserving fourth.
Soon after the race, Sainz apologised for his outburst and ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix he explained his thinking at the time.
When asked by Motorsport.com if his disagreement with the team was down to the Spaniard having a more aggressive mindset than his team, he said: "I think it's a fair assessment.
"I think I was honestly quite vocal about wanting to go and get that podium and maybe risking on staying on the hard.
"But I also fully understand the team perspective. We are fighting for the team championship with Mercedes, there's Lewis behind who just did a very quick out-lap on the hards and we have to protect from him and over the position.
"At that space in time, when I left the pits behind Esteban, I was quite frustrated about that."
Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Ferrari, in the Thursday press conference
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Sainz added that while he was angry at seeing Ocon stay ahead to take a shock podium for Alpine, he soon understood the team's position in the debrief.
"Once they explain it to you and they explain the rationale and the reasons they did it, I perfectly understand it. It's just that I probably wasn't at the time in the same mindset.
"I was just focusing a lot more on extending the hard trying maybe to catch the rain, trying to catch a safety car, trying to catch anything that would allow me to finish on that podium and in the end we will never know."
Ferrari made several changes to its strategy team over the off-season after a string of errors in 2022, which included chief strategist Inaki Rueda moving to a Maranello-based role.
Read Also:
- Ferrari poised for Red Bull-style F1 sidepod switch
- Ferrari "pushing like hell" to address F1 2023 form
- Mercedes F1 aerodynamicists analysing "nice clutch" of Red Bull floor images
When asked if he had seen any improvement in the strategy department, Sainz said it was still a work in progress, but felt the team's relatively poor race pace has played a much bigger role in he and team-mate Charles Leclerc sliding backwards during races.
"I would say that department is in constant progress and we're doing I think a lot of progress, it just hasn't been an easy year for us," he explained.
"When you spend the whole year starting further up on the grid from where your normal race pace is, which has been a bit worse than our qualifying pace, then there's always going to be doubts and criticism about our race execution, because you're always going backwards."
"That makes these first six races have been more difficult to assess and judge. I do feel the team is doing everything it can to be as strong as possible on that department. But as with everything, there's margin of improvement and we're doing it."
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
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Monaco GP result a weight off Alpine's shoulders, says Gasly
Next article Haas open to Alfa Romeo F1 deal but no offer yet
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Filip Cleeren
Winners and losers from F1's United States Grand Prix
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
19 h
Winners and losers from F1's United States Grand Prix
F1 United States GP: Kimi Antonelli takes dominant victory - but no title
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
23 h
F1 United States GP: Kimi Antonelli takes dominant victory - but no title
More from
Carlos Sainz
Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon
Formula 1
Formula 1
Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon
Lewis Hamilton: Younger F1 drivers are “more and more cautious” about racing in rain
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Lewis Hamilton: Younger F1 drivers are “more and more cautious” about racing in rain
More from
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc reacts to Ferrari fear: 'We know what line not to cross'
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Charles Leclerc reacts to Ferrari fear: 'We know what line not to cross'
Why Ferrari failed to deliver on its hype in F1's United States GP qualifying
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Why Ferrari failed to deliver on its hype in F1's United States GP qualifying
Latest news
Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship
ARCA
ARCA ARCA 1 h
Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship
Why McLaren gave team order to Oscar Piastri in F1 US GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
3 h
Why McLaren gave team order to Oscar Piastri in F1 US GP
Winners and losers from a frantic NASCAR Cup race at Talladega
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
4 h
Winners and losers from a frantic NASCAR Cup race at Talladega
Herta endorses IndyCar’s international return with Barcelona while marveling at Palou’s dominance
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 4 h
Herta endorses IndyCar’s international return with Barcelona while marveling at Palou’s dominance
Feature
Discover prime content
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
Subscribe