Former Williams and McLaren Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya criticized Ferrari's handling of 2022 strategies, especially when it comes to calling drivers into the pits
With the experience of almost 100 races in Formula 1, Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya criticized the "wrong decisions" that Ferrari has been taking in the fight for the category title in 2022. The former driver compared the strategies adopted by the Italian team and its rival for the title, Red Bull, and highlighted the Taurinos' aggressive decision-making - despite admitting that Max Verstappen's team has done well with safety car interventions.
"They keep making wrong decisions," Montoya told Vegas Insider. "It's tough, because Red Bull is very aggressive with their strategy. In a way, you can say that Red Bull is very lucky, because they have had the safety car at the right times. Things always go the best way for them," he admitted.
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Ferrari's most remembered mistake in 2022 - and the one that generated the most repercussions, with Charles Leclerc clearly furious over the radio - was in Monaco, when the team called the Monegasque to the pits while Carlos Sainz was still changing his tires. The team even tried to change their mind and told the #16 to stay on track, but it was too late and the car was inside the pit-lane.
"In Monaco, with 'Checo' [Pérez], Ferrari had a 4s lead when they called Charles [Leclerc] and he lost the 4s between his [pit] entry lap and the stop," Montoya explained. "He fell back, and it was something like, 'how did that happen?" he said.
Finally, the former Williams and McLaren driver stressed the importance of not being afraid when making strategic decisions, since the lack of action itself is already a decision. In addition, Montoya called for the team to put less pressure on itself, seeing an excessive charge moments before Leclerc's race was damaged in Monte Carlo.
"Didn't anyone tell them that they really needed to go, that they had to maximize that stop?" he questioned. "I'm sure someone told the team that they needed a quick stop because it was getting tight. There's no need for that. Let them work, they know what they need to do - clean stops," he explained.
"You really need to go back to the basics, make simple stops, make decisions in the race," he continued. "Don't be afraid to make mistakes, that's the first thing. A lot of mistakes they made were because they didn't make the decisions," he finished.