'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Ferrari’s head of race strategy Iñaki Rueda recently spoke about how the 2022 F1 Monaco GP was lost for both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. In what was a very detailed explanation as reported by racer.com, Rueda touched upon how things went wrong with both the drivers.
How did Ferrari spoil Charles Leclerc's race?
According to Rueda, it came down to two errors in the gap assessment on both the pitstops that forced Charles Leclerc to drop positions.
Speaking about the mismanagement of the first pitstop, Rueda said it was down to Ferrari underestimating the impact of the undercut and the speed Sergio Perez would have on the intermediate tires. He said:
“With Charles, we made two mistakes. The first one was to cover Perez. While with Carlos [Sainz] we realized very late in his lap that we could not cover Perez, with Charles we had a big gap and we thought we could cover Perez. At the start of his in-lap, Charles had over 10 seconds advantage on Perez, and we thought this advantage would shrink because Perez on the intermediate tyres was lapping much faster than Charles on the extreme (wet). We had looked at other people, we had the live data from the cars, and we thought that this gap would shrink from around 10 seconds to maybe five, four, three seconds at worst. As we were coming in, we saw the 10 seconds gap shrinking: seven, six, five, four, as Charles was coming through the Swimming Pool. The last timing reference we had indicated that he would come out one second ahead of Perez. What we did not expect was Perez to go nine seconds faster overall on that lap. Because of this, we lost the race with Charles.”
For the second stop, according to the Ferrari strategy head, it all came down to Leclerc losing time during the double pitstop that the team attempted with its two drivers. Rueda added, saying:
“The second mistake we made with Charles was a gap mistake again. We wanted to pit both cars onto dry tyres. On Lap 21 we thought the track was good for dry tyres, and at the same time we were bringing Carlos in to try to keep the lead of the race, we thought ‘Let’s bring in Charles to try to undercut Perez so we can finish P1 and P2’. As we were coming in, we were looking at our tools and our gaps. The gap in between our cars was five seconds. It was tight for a ‘doppio’ [a double stop]. A comfortable ‘doppio’ is done with six seconds in between the cars, but we thought five and a half seconds might be enough. As the cars got closer and closer to pit entry, the gap was narrowed and at the pit entry, the gap was only three and a half seconds. We 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. This was crucial. Why? This is what allowed [Max] Verstappen to come out ahead of Charles a lap later.”
The Ferrari strategy disaster was not limited to the team messing up Leclerc's strategy as even Sainz lost out to Perez after getting stuck behind Nicholas Latifi on his out-lap.
How did Ferrari spoil Carlos Sainz's race?
The plan for Carlos Sainz also included pitting him alongside Charles Leclerc for the intermediates but it was changed to a direct switch to slicks for the Spaniard. In his case, it was his encountering the Williams driver on his out-lap that cost him the position behind Perez.
Speaking about Sainz's strategy, Rueda said:
“With Carlos, we had a very good race. He started P2, and after the first round of stops he found himself leading the race, because although our initial plan was to try and cover Perez, we had the peace of mind to realise it was not going to work, and at the last second we told Carlos to stay out and he duly did so. Furthermore, when the time was right, we judged that the track could be quickest on dry tyres, and Carlos was the first car on the lead path to stop for dry. This gave him a definite advantage. Unfortunately, he came out behind [Nicholas] Latifi, and this cost him over three seconds. Had he not been blocked by Latifi, we are quite confident he would have won the race.”
Ferrari started the 2022 F1 Monaco GP on the front row. From that point on, to not score a win there, must be a huge blow to the confidence of the team.
