Ferrari showed 'how not to do it' in a title fight at the 2022 F1 British GP with its dubious strategy calls

Ferrari showed the entire world 'how not to do it' while battling for world titles after their strategic gaffe at the 2022 F1 British GP, according to former driver Christian Danner.

Danner's comments were made about the Scuderia's decision not to pit Charles Leclerc for fresh tires for the last ten laps while leading the race at Silverstone last weekend.

The Scuderia chose to prioritize track position for Leclerc while calling his teammate Carlos Sainz in for soft tires when a Safety Car came out after Esteban Ocon's power failure on the old pit straight. The Spaniard was promptly followed by Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, Red Bull's Sergio Perez, McLaren's Lando Norris, and Alpine's Fernando Alonso.

At the restart, Ferrari almost shot themselves further in the foot when they tried to get Sainz on fresh rubber to defend for Leclerc on old and worn-out hard tires. The 27-year-old was quick to shoot this down, taking matters into his own hands and winning the race. Leclerc fell from P1 to P4 despite his brave defense against Perez and Hamilton.

After the race, the tension was visible and palpable between Leclerc and Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto and caught on broadcast cameras as well.

Danner chastized Binotto and Co. for making what he called 'cardinal mistakes' during the race. In an interview with Speedweek.com, the 64-year-old German said:

“The first mistake was that they didn’t wave [Charles] Leclerc past [Carlos] Sainz right away, but instead just kept telling Sainz during the race: ‘Drive a little faster and you’ll be fine somehow.’ That was the first disastrous decision. Leclerc is the man who can get closer to Verstappen in the overall standings. Leclerc is the faster driver and the better driver. He is the only World Championship candidate Ferrari has. That should have been dealt with right away during the race.”

This does ring true as Leclerc had a chance to claw back as many as 19 points in the deficit between himself and Max Verstappen after the latter lost performance due to debris being stuck to the floor of his Red Bull RB18. Instead, Leclerc's P4 finish and Verstappen's P7 finish meant he only made up six points on the Dutchman.

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Not pitting Charles Leclerc for fresh tires was Ferrari's second major mistake at the 2022 F1 British GP

Christian Danner did not mince his words while admonishing Ferrari for not being quick enough to pit Charles Leclerc for fresh tires during the final phase of the 2022 F1 British GP.

In the aforementioned interview with Speedweek.com, the 64-year-old said:

“During the Safety Car period, they also made the wrong decision twice. Firstly, because they didn’t bring Leclerc in immediately and send him back out on track with fresh tyres. And secondly, because after the missed tyre change on lap one of the Safety Car, they didn’t bring him in on the second lap either.”

Danner went on to add, saying:

“They almost wantonly deprived him of the points and the win. I’m happy for Carlos Sainz, but soberly speaking, Ferrari has once again shown here how not to do it if you want to win the World Championship.”

Leclerc had also missed out on a possible win in Monaco owing to shoddy stragetization from the Scuderia and could be doubting the team's ability to back up his potential title challenge in 2022.

The Prancing Horse is still second in the World Constructors' Championship standings with 265 points. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are third and fourth in the World Drivers' Championship standings, respectively, as we approach the 2022 F1 Austrian GP.