Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has called for Race Control to make "shaper decisions" in future after being left unhappy with the timing of the Safety Car call in the Canadian Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz had been leading the race ahead of Max Verstappen when Yuki Tsunoda crashed on his way out of the pits on Lap 49. The Scuderia quickly made the decision to bring Sainz in for a pit-stop, but Binotto was left critical of the time it took for the Safety Car to be called. "I think it took very long to decide for the Safety Car," Binotto told media, including RacingNews365.com . "At [that] moment Carlos was leading the race, and I think that the Safety Car had been released when he was just at the end of the main straight coming into the last corner. "The team has been very, very good in reacting, and the driver himself as well, coming into the pit. "I think we had only one second to react. We reacted within one second. Without that good reaction, it would have been very difficult and a bad situation for Carlos. "We need sharper decisions. [For me], it took very long [for Race Control] to decide."
What would have happened without the Safety Car?
When asked whether Sainz could have defended against Verstappen had there not been a late Safety Car, Binotto admits that it is hard to know how it would have panned out. "[It's] difficult to judge," the team boss explained. "We knew that in order to defend, [Sainz] should have been very fast on track, a case of 17.4 or 17.3 on each lap, because Max was very fast behind. "It would have been very close, no doubt." Binotto acknowledges that the threat from third-placed Lewis Hamilton was also a factor in Ferrari's strategy decisions. "[We were asking], should we stay on track or should we pit, simply to protect as well from Lewis, who had fresh tyres as well and was very fast behind," he continued. "So we were monitoring [the situation] very closely. I think it's very difficult to judge and to say how the race would have finished without the final Safety Car."
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