Former F1 World Champion Damon Hill has questioned the effectiveness of Ferrari's strategy calls, after the team chose to pit Carlos Sainz late in the race, just as he was attempting to overtake Sergio Perez. Sainz overruled Ferrari's initial call and passed Perez, but pitted two laps later and dropped from third to ninth, and although he recovered to finish fifth, some suggested that Ferrari should have left him out on worn tyres to try to defend his third place. Sainz also overruled Ferrari's call to pit him at Monaco, in a race where the Scuderia's indecision over strategy saw Charles Leclerc drop from first to fourth. And at Silverstone, Ferrari's decision to pit Sainz over Leclerc under Safety Car conditions again saw the Monegasque lose the race lead and finish fourth. Speaking after the French Grand Prix, Hill suggested that Ferrari's history of decision-making at crucial moments left a little to be desired. "We've seen Ferrari do this a couple of times. Monaco was the last time, and also you have to say at Silverstone they were presented with a situation where they had to decide which car to bring in," Hill told Sky F1 . "And again, it happened in the French Grand Prix. Maybe they could have just carried on and hoped for the best. "He may have actually overcome the five-second deficit and been on the podium if he had carried on and not done the pit stop. "So again, Ferrari seem to be all at sea when it comes to making decisions that are crucial and under pressure."
Hill: Ferrari need to look at themselves
Hill suggested that Ferrari's apparent indecision might be a hallmark of a lack of structure and direction, and called on the Maranello squad to self-reflect as to how things could be improved upon. "I think Ferrari do definitely need to take a look at themselves and ask what they are doing wrong," said Hill. "They've got the car and the drivers to do it, but they need to give them back up and clarify team instructions when it comes to drivers talking to the pit wall. "Also the strategists, how they communicate with the drivers as to what the order of command is. "You can't have different people making different decisions and then changing their minds at the last minute."
Most read
