Carlos Sainz believes it has been difficult to know where Ferrari should be "more brave or cautious" on strategy, after a string of bad calls has lost them valuable points in races. Last time out at the Belgium Grand Prix the team chose to risk pitting teammate Charles Leclerc with two laps to go to get the fastest lap points, which ended up costing him two points because of a pit lane speeding infraction. At Paul Ricard, the team appeared to give up a possible podium for Sainz by also electing to make a late stop in the race, which ended up with him losing time and finishing fifth. “It's very difficult to generalise where we should have been more brave or more cautious,” Sainz told media, including RacingNews365.com . “I think you will need to pick [them] one-by-one and analyse them independently, and I’m pretty sure one-by-one, every result or conclusion will be different. “For me it's all about continuous improvement and finding ways to make the right calls at the right time.”
Sainz inclined to have open discussion with team about strategy
Sainz says he is more inclined to have an open discussion about the evolving strategy during the race, as the grip from the tyres change and more data from the team is produced. "I've always personally been a driver that really likes opening the radio and being clear about what I feel in the car. "I want them [the team] to keep feeding me about what they see in the race and is the Hard, Medium, or Soft [tyre] behaving as expected, worse, or better. "Keep telling me because I'm gonna keep feeding you back what I feel on track to see we can together arrive at the same conclusion."
More pressure to deliver at Ferrari
Since joining Ferrari in 2021, Sainz says he has found it “a bit tougher” compared to the other teams he has raced with in the midfield to take the criticism for strategy errors. He added: “I find that a bit tougher in Ferrari, I feel like when I was in McLaren, Toro Rosso, or Renault, when there was a big mistake on strategy, no one would come and point it out, criticize you and put you down to Earth like as much as they do in Ferrari.” Having taken his first career victory with the team earlier this year, the Spaniard says he is adapting to this aspect of being part of such a popular team within F1. He explained: “In Ferrari, everything seems bigger. The victory is bigger. The mistake is bigger and it’s just like that. “It’s something I'm adapting myself to and I need to learn how to react better in [those] situations.”
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