Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto pointed out that the team put pressure on Max Verstappen, different from what happened in the sprint race
The question on Saturday, after the sprint race in Spielberg, was whether Ferrari agreed with Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz on the question of their fight for position. Leclerc felt that the plan should be to work together to overtake Max Verstappen, while Sainz really wanted to duel if possible. After Leclerc's victory in the Austrian GP this Sunday (10), the team hinted that they agreed with the Monegasque.
Mattia Binotto, Ferrari boss, pointed out that Sunday's strategy was different from Saturday's: the team worked to put pressure and cause wear on Verstappen's tires. Thus, Leclerc passed three times and set off for a dominant victory. Sainz would also pass, were it not for the engine blowout that caused the Spaniard to abandon.
"Certainly very happy with our two wins in a row, Silverstone and here, which was a home race for them. It was important to be able to recover from a couple of races where we weren't winning but had potential," he said.
"I'm happy for the win, but disappointed for the problem we had with Carlos, because it would have been an even better Sunday. It's hard to judge what Red Bull was doing [on Saturday]: we looked at the information yesterday during the sprint race and tried to find the right balance to manage tire wear," he followed.
"Somehow we handled the tires well. We put pressure on Max, different from yesterday's race. The best thing would be to put pressure on Max and wear out his tires. I'm glad we did that," he said.
Regarding Leclerc's problem with the throttle in the last laps, the Ferrari boss said he has no idea what it is about and said he finished the race very nervous.
"I still don't know, to be honest. I analyzed the information we had, but we have to wait for the car to see if it was mechanical or not. I wasn't even looking [at the track] at the end, I was looking to the side," he finished.
The 2022 Formula One season continues in two weeks, July 22-24, at Paul Ricard in the French Grand Prix.