“Do something, please!” The radio calls which show how Leclerc lost at Silverstone

2022 British GP team radio transcript

6th July 2022, 14:008th July 2022, 0:31 | Written by Keith Collantine

Charles Leclerc was on course to claim a badly-needed victory in the British Grand Prix until it all went wrong for him in the final laps.

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The team’s decision not to pit him during the Safety Car period at the end of the race was widely criticised. But as Leclerc’s comment show he was more concerned about another aspect of the team’s race management.

After the chequered flag had fallen, Leclerc commented in despair on the amount of time he’d lost behind his team mate earlier in the race. That left him more vulnerable than he might have been when the Safety Car came out.

Leclerc began the race third on the grid behind pole-winner Carlos Sainz Jnr and Max Verstappen. They ran in that order to begin with, until Sainz went off, handing the lead to Verstappen.

As early as lap 11 Leclerc was warning his team that he was losing time behind Sainz. Ferrari eventually swapped their running order 20 laps later. But just eight laps after that the Safety Car was deployed.

Ferrari opted not to bring in Leclerc, who was leading by just three seconds. That left him vulnerable to those who did pit, including Sainz, at the restart.

Ferrari tried to orchestrate the restart, telling Sainz to drop back from his team mate. But he refused to follow the instruction, and swept by his team mate after a few corners. A despondent Leclerc sunk to fourth place, scoring less than half the points he had been on course for a few minutes earlier.

Here’s how the race unfolded on Leclerc and Sainz’s radios.

Leclerc and Sainz radio messages during the British Grand Prix

Leclerc picked up damage at the start of the race but sound found it wasn’t limiting his performance:

2	Marcos Padros	So the Safety Car is coming in. You go to the grid and it will be standing start.
3	Leclerc	Car is okay.
	Marcos Padros	Understood.
4	Marcos Padros	Gap to Verstappen in front 1.6. DRS enabled.
5	Leclerc	Is all okay on the car?
	Marcos Padros	So we lost the right side end plate, front end plate, missing five points.
	Leclerc	Okay. Yeah. That’s fine, it feels okay.
	Marcos Padros	Copy.
	Marcos Padros	And for us it is safe to continue. We can continue.
	Marcos Padros	And Perez just pitted for a front wing change.
7	Marcos Padros	And easy entry 15, suggestion easy entry 15.
8	Marcos Padros	And turn nine is good we just need easy entry turn 15, please.
9	Marcos Padros	And pushing status when you can.
	Leclerc	Three.
10	Marcos Padros	You are doing a good job at turn 15 continue like this.

On lap 10 Sainz went off the track at Chapel, which handed the lead to Verstappen. Sainz told his team to remain patient while Leclerc closed in behind, but the chasing Ferrari driver was already warning his team not to let one car cost the other time:

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11	Marcos Padros	So Verstappen is doing more tyre saving at turns one and nine compared to us.	Sainz	Let’s stay patient.
	Leclerc	If Carlos is struggling let’s not lose time.	Adami	Copy
	Marcos Padros	Copy understood.	Sainz	Let’s see in a few laps.
	Marcos Padros	Verstappen lap time 33.6.
12	Marcos Padros	Verstappen has a puncture in front of Sainz. Verstappen will box this lap.	Adami	Charles 0.7 behind. 0.8. On DRS.
			Sainz	Yeah Max isn’t pulling away. There’s a lot of slipstream effect here.
			Adami	Copy that. You have completed lap 11.
			Adami	Puncture, Verstappen, puncture, Verstappen. He’s coming in.
			Adami	Okay let’s go in clean air, try to recover the pace.

Leclerc became increasingly concerned about the time he was losing behind Sainz, warning the team: “I’m fucking up my race.”

13	Marcos Padros	So Verstappen pitted for a new medium.	Adami	Charles 1.1 behind with DRS.
	Leclerc	We are losing some time.	Adami	For info before the off you had there was a gust of wind.
	Marcos Padros	Copy understood.	Sainz	Yeah I felt it.
			Adami	Charles one second behind, one second.
			Adami	0.9 with DRS. One second now.
14	Marcos Padros	We need to save tyres in high speed, look after the tyres please.	Adami	Charles 1.1 behind, 1.2, with DRS. And look after tyres in the high speed.
	Leclerc	Yeah but being that it’s difficult to save. So… yeah.	Sainz	I have [unclear] through turn nine, it’s nearly flat.
			Adami	Copy that, Charles 0.7 behind.
15	Marcos Padros	Understood.	Sainz	Struggling with understeer.
	Marcos Padros	And we need to save the tyres in high-speed. Our threat is Hamilton, we think.	Adami	Copy.
	Marcos Padros	And Hamilton lap time was 33.2.	Adami	Engine braking plus one and save more tyres in the high speed.
	Leclerc	Yep.	Adami	Charles 0.6 behind on DRS.
16	Marcos Padros	Hamilton lap time behind 33.0.	Adami	Charles 0.8 on DRS.
	Leclerc	What do I need to do? I mean I’m fucking up my race.	Adami	Charles 0.7 behind on DRS.
	Marcos Padros	Copy. I will come back to you.	Adami	Charles 0.7 behind.
	Leclerc	Yeah copy that.
	Marcos Padros	And K1 available.

Both Ferrari drivers were becoming increasingly exasperated by this point. Leclerc was pleading with the team to “do something”, while Sainz told his race engineer he’d heard enough messages to increase his pace:

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17	Marcos Padros	Sainz is being told that lap time target is 32.9.	Adami	Charles lap time… 0.7 behind. And driver default alpha five seven on when you can for more power.
	Leclerc	Yeah, but then do something, please! I’m not… I’m not trying to influence my result. I’m just, I can go faster, guys.	Adami	Target lap time 32.9. Hamilton is doing this lap time.
	Marcos Padros	Copy, understood.	Sainz	Copy yeah I will get there once the SOC recovers.
18	Marcos Padros	And K1 available.	Adami	Copy.
	Leclerc	Yeah, copy.	Adami	This is a good lap. Keep pushing, you are on Hamilton lap times.
	Marcos Padros	So Sainz is being told to push.	Sainz	Yep.
			Adami	You need to push more, you need to push more. Hamilton…
19	Leclerc	Yeah, copy. I try to keep my tyres but I’m just losing race time.	Sainz	I’m pushing, okay.
	Marcos Padros	Copy.	Adami	Hamilton lap time 32.9.
			Adami	Charles 0.9 behind.
			Adami	Need to push more if you can, head down.
			Sainz	Copy, copy.
20	Marcos Padros	So Sainz will box this lap.	Adami	Need to push, need to push…
	Leclerc	Copy that.	Sainz	Ricky, don’t tell me again.
			Adami	Okay.

Ferrari finally brought Sainz in, eight laps after Leclerc had first complained he was losing time behind his team mate. But had he been? Sainz felt Leclerc’s lap times showed it was harder for him to reach the target lap time without running in his team mate’s DRS.

20			Adami	And box, Carlos, box. Pit confirm and box.
			Sainz	Copy.
			Adami	Let me know for flap.
			Adami	Get close to Lando coming out from the pits.
			Sainz	A bit up.
			Adami	Slippery pit box reminder. K2.
21	Marcos Padros	You are doing a good job, keep it like this. Gap to Hamilton behind 2.4.	Adami	He’ll be around one second in front of Lando, keep pushing, also white line.
			Adami	Charles lap time 33.3.
22	Marcos Padros	Hamilton time 32.8. Warm-up for the hards better than expected.	Sainz	Yeah I told you he’d lose a lot of slipstream.
	Marcos Padros	So Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car are open. And gap to Hamilton behind 2.2. We need to keep it like this.	Adami	Copy that. And Hamilton lap time 32.8, for info, you are doing good.
			Sainz	Where is Hamilton?
			Adami	Hamilton behind Charles, two seconds. And we are on Charles pit window right now.

Leclerc came in after extending his first stint longer than Sainz had done, giving him a tyre performance advantage which would make it easier for him to put pressure on his team mate:

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23	Marcos Padros	Hamilton lap time 32.4.
	Marcos Padros	Gap to Hamilton behind 1.7.
	Marcos Padros	And we need full push, full push.
24	Marcos Padros	Hamilton lap time behind 32.6. Gap to him 1.4.	Sainz	I have understeer, I don’t know why. It’s like I’ve lost rear-left.
	Marcos Padros	And flap update when you can.	Adami	Charles lap time 33.0.
	Leclerc	Okay like this.
	Marcos Padros	Next guy in front will be Tsunoda. He will have blue flags.
25	Marcos Padros	And mode box.	Adami	And push now, he is in mode box.
	Marcos Padros	Solid blues for Tsunoda in front.	Adami	Charles is coming in, will be around one second behind.
	Marcos Padros	And box now box, pit confirm.
26	Marcos Padros	So we’ll be one second behind Sainz. K2 off at turn three. And watch the white line on exit.	Adami	He’s two seconds behind you.
	Marcos Padros	So Gap to Sainz in front 2.1.

While Leclerc’s concern was beating Verstappen, Ferrari’s priority was staying ahead of Hamilton:

26	Leclerc	Is Verstappen in front?
	Marcos Padros	So Verstappen is not a threat. He’s P8, he had some reliability issues before.
27	Marcos Padros	The only threat is Hamilton for us.	Adami	Charles is 1.5 behind.
	Marcos Padros	Information: Hamilton lap times, 32.6.	Adami	Target lap time 32.2. You can push more on tyres, we are safe to the end. Charles lap time 32.0.
28	Marcos Padros	Tyre life is good to the end of the race. Let’s look after these tyres.	Adami	And Hamilton lap time 32.4 and he’s a threat if he’s stopping.

Again Leclerc found himself losing time behind Sainz. Now Ferrari gave Sainz a target lap time and warned him he would have to let his team mate by if he did not reach it:

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28	Leclerc	Are we fighting or not? That’s crucial for the tyres.	Sainz	Okay but my front-left is not the best-looking.
	Marcos Padros	So we are right on top of the pit window from Hamilton.	Adami	Copy.
	Leclerc	If Carlos can, push a bit more so we can have a bit more margin.	Adami	Charles lap time 32.0, Hamilton faster now.
	Marcos Padros	And we are free to fight, free to fight.	Adami	Target lap time 32.1.
29	Marcos Padros	And Hamilton lap time 32.2.	Sainz	Copy.
	Leclerc	Yeah when I’m getting close I’m killing the tyres.	Adami	You need to meet the target lap time, 32.1, 32.1.
	Marcos Padros	Copy, understood.	Sainz	Copy.
			Adami	Target lap time 32.2. Otherwise, we’re swapping their cars.
30	Marcos Padros	So target lap time for Sainz is 32.2 otherwise we’ll swap.	Sainz	Okay one more lap.
	Leclerc	But we are losing time compared to Hamilton. Three two is not enough in my opinion, for [unclear].	Sainz	And this lap is coming better.
	Marcos Padros	Understood.	Adami	Copy.

Although Sainz felt his lap times were improving, Ferrari did not agree, and Leclerc was still sat within DRS range. The two were told to swap positions:

30	Marcos Padros	In front of Sainz there’s Tsunoda, he will have blue flags.	Adami	Charles 0.6 behind, on DRS.
31	Marcos Padros	So we will swap the cars into turn six. Be careful Tsunoda in front with solid blues.	Adami	This is not good enough, we are swapping the cars.
	Marcos Padros	And target lap time 32.2.	Sainz	Copy.
	Marcos Padros	Sainz behind with DRS.	Adami	And do it turn six. Flashing blues [unclear]. Solid now.
	Marcos Padros	And Hamilton lap time 32.6.	Adami	And we are in Hamilton pit window. Hamilton lap time 32.6.
32	Marcos Padros	Sainz behind with DRS.
	Marcos Padros	Sainz behind with DRS.
	Marcos Padros	And SOC five when you can.

Now Leclerc was finally running in free air he began to pull a gap out over Sainz. Mercedes said afterwards that had it not been for the Safety Car which appeared later they believe Hamilton was fast enough to catch Sainz but not the quicker Leclerc:

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33	Marcos Padros	So that’s a good lap time. Hamilton lap time 32.0.
	Marcos Padros	If Hamilton stops he will be 0.8 behind.
	Marcos Padros	And Hamilton just pitted now, full push.
	Marcos Padros	So Hamilton on hards.
34	Marcos Padros	So Hamilton is behind Ricardo with blue flags.
	Marcos Padros	And we need driver default alpha five seven on. Alpha five seven on.
35	Marcos Padros	So information gap to Sainz behind 1.8, Hamilton behind you at six seconds.
	Marcos Padros	And SOC six when you can.
	Marcos Padros	And try to look after the tyres.
	Marcos Padros	And 17 laps to go. One seven to go.
36	Marcos Padros	And easy turns nine and 15. Look after the fronts.
	Marcos Padros	So Hamilton is still behind Ricciardo and Hamilton lap time 32.1.
	Marcos Padros	Information: Gap to Sainz behind 3.0.

Just when Leclerc seemed to be on course for victory, the one development he did not need occured. The Safety Car was deployed in reaction to Esteban Ocon stopping on the old start/finish straight.

Ferrari had little time to make a decision. They quickly reckoned the best call was to leave Leclerc in the lead as his hard tyres were fresher than Sainz’s, but bring the following car in for fresh rubber. Those following Sainz – Hamilton, Perez and Fernando Alonso – followed suit.

39	Marcos Padros	And take care of the tyres in high speed. Lap time from saying 32.0, Hamilton behind him, 31.3..	Adami	We are happy with the last lap. Ocon is slow before turn nine, where you are.
	Marcos Padros	And Ocon slow in front.	Adami	Switch position yellow, switch position yellow. Ocon stopping before turn nine.
	Marcos Padros	Safety Car window is closed. Safety Car window is closed.	Adami	Box for soft, box for soft.
	Leclerc	And VSC too?	Sainz	Copy.
	Marcos Padros	Yes. Yes. Closed. Stay out. Stay out.	Adami	Let me know for flap.
	Leclerc	Yeah, copy.	Adami	Hamilton is coming in behind.
	Marcos Padros	Safety Car deployed, take care of these tyres.	Sainz	Er, go up 0.2.
	Marcos Padros	And radio off, okay. So Sainz and Hamilton behind they just pitted. And radio off please.

Leclerc quickly realised he was in a very difficult situation:

40	Leclerc	I think I was in front of the Safety Car.	Adami	Okay copy. K2 on. Slippery pit box.
	Marcos Padros	We’ll come back to…	Adami	And Hamilton on soft behind.
	Leclerc	He should let me past, should let me past.	Adami	And save fuel.
	Marcos Padros	So we checked and we were behind. Charge button on, charge on and radio off please.	Adami	Recharge on. Save fuel.
	Leclerc	Can we box or is it too late now?	Adami	Reset your switch. Hamilton slowing down behind. Hamilton slowing down behind.
	Marcos Padros	It’s too late now. So Sainz and Hamilton behind with new soft.	Sainz	Why?
	Leclerc	Copy. That’s going to be hard.	Adami	Just opening the gap. Save fuel. I mean, for you, save as much as you can.
	Marcos Padros	Try to focus on these tyres to get ready.	Adami	More weaving for tyre warm-up.
	Leclerc	What is the tyre offset?	Adami	So Hamilton behind on soft.
	Marcos Padros	I will come back to you. Ocon still there, slow, stopped.	Sainz	How many laps left?

Ferrari told Sainz to give Leclerc the maximum allowed space at the restart – 10 car lengths – to protect him from immediate attack. He message was played on the world feed, along with Sainz’s refusal, which Ferrari did not overrule.

Although Ferrari told Leclerc about the instruction to Sainz, they did not tell him his team mate had refused to comply with it:

41	Marcos Padros	We think it will restart at the end of this lap.	Sainz	How many laps of Safety Car you reckon? For the fuel and the tyres.
	Marcos Padros	We believe it will be the restart now, this lap.	Adami	I think it will be one more, I believe. Or restart this lap, it should be soon. Anyway priority is to defend on Hamilton on soft and see what happens.
	Leclerc	What is the smoke on the front left?	Sainz	Are we priority fuel or tyres?
	Marcos Padros	Just, just the brakes. Take care of the brakes.	Adami	Priority… we should be okay at the end of this lap.
	Marcos Padros	Just hot brakes at the front. Take care of them.	Adami	The lapped cars may now overtake. Lando, sorry Ricciardo, behind. Ricciardo coming through now. Tsunoda coming through now. Driver default delta zero zero on.
	Marcos Padros	So Sainz has been told that the priority is to defend from Hamilton. And when we cross the start and finish line, it will be 11 laps to go.	Sainz	Guys, I’m going to be a lot quicker than Charles.
	Leclerc	The soft will be quicker for how many laps?	Adami	Copy.
	Marcos Padros	We think only two laps, two laps quicker.
	Marcos Padros	And lapped cars will now overtake.
	Leclerc	Ah come on.
42	Marcos Padros	And tyres are okay.	Sainz	Tyres are priority?
	Marcos Padros	So it’s just a reminder K2 off turn three and then K1 available.	Adami	Yes they are, good on fuel, good to go to the end.
	Marcos Padros	And when we cross the line, it will be 10 laps to go. Ten laps to go.	Adami	It’d be K2 only at the restart. Safety Car in lap.
	Marcos Padros	Easier on brakes.	Adami	And the instruction is to give 10 car lengths to Charles, some breathing space. Within 10, within 10.
	Marcos Padros	Will be K2 on.	Sainz	But guys, I’m under pressure from Hamilton. Please don’t ask these things. Please. Please. Let’s just stop inventing, stop inventing. I’m under pressure, guys. Trust me, there’s more to lose like that.
	Leclerc	Yeah. Yeah.	Adami	Copy that. Copy.

Sainz immediately pounced on Leclerc at the restart and passed him. Perez and Hamilton sound found there way by as well, though he was able to keep Alonso behind to the flag for fourth place:

44	Leclerc	Gap to Perez behind 0.4.
	Marcos Padros	Perez behind fighting with Hamilton.
	Marcos Padros	Gap to Perez behind 0.7.
45	Marcos Padros	DRS enabled.
	Marcos Padros	Perez behind with DRS.
	Marcos Padros	Only K1 available.
	Marcos Padros	Perez behind with DRS.
	Marcos Padros	SOC nine when you can.
46	Marcos Padros	Hamilton behind with DRS. And six laps to go.
47	Marcos Padros	Hamilton behind with DRS.
	Marcos Padros	And SOC nine when you can.
48	Marcos Padros	Hamilton behind with DRS.
	Marcos Padros	Hamilton behind with DRS, good job.
	Marcos Padros	Gap to Alonso behind 0.4.
49	Marcos Padros	And four laps to go. Alonso behind with DRS. Tyres are ready.
	Leclerc	Well, I won’t expect [unclear]. Fucking hell.
	Marcos Padros	You’re doing a good job.
	Marcos Padros	Alonso behind with DRS and SOC eight when you can.
	Marcos Padros	Three laps to go. Gap to Alonso behind 0.7.
50	Marcos Padros	Alonso behind with DRS.
	Marcos Padros	And SOC eight when you can.
	Marcos Padros	Alonso behind with DRS.
	Marcos Padros	And just use K1.
51	Marcos Padros	Alonso behind with DRS.
	Marcos Padros	Alonso behind with DRS.
	Marcos Padros	And last lap.
52	Marcos Padros	Alonso behind with DRS.
	Leclerc	Yeah, yeah. It’s okay for now. Leave me alone. Thank you.
	Leclerc	Alonso behind with DRS.

If Ferrari had taken steps earlier in the race to avoid Leclerc losing time behind Sainz, would he have built up enough of a margin not to be in danger when the Safety Car was deployed?

The question was clearly on Leclerc’s mind at the end of the race. Even Sainz could see his team mate had been hard done by under the circumstances:

53	Leclerc	The amount of race time that we have lost in this race… oh my God. The only good thing about today is that Carlos won but fricking hell guys, anyway. Enjoy the victory.	Adami	Wow, wow, wow! Vamos! Good job.
	Marcos Padros	Copy, understood. You’ve done a really good job.	Sainz	We did it! Yes! We did it! Yes! Vamos!
			Binotto	Bravo Carlos [unclear]
			Adami	And Hamilton went for 30.5 there last lap. Well, you tried your best. Was a mega race.
			Sainz	Yeah he can have it! I don’t care today. I don’t care.
			Binotto	Una gara bellissma meritata, Carlos. Un contentissimo per me. [A beautiful, deserved race, Carlos. A delight for me.]
			Adami	And charge button on. And thank you very much for this race.
			Sainz	Thank you Ricky for all the effort you put it this year.
			Sainz	Thank you and the team of course. Everyone. My first race win in Formula1 and with Ferrari is… you cannot imagine how it feels. And in Silverstone.
			Sainz	Yeah. I’m sorry for Charles he deserves better than that today.

NB. Some repetitive and routine messages omitted.

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2022 British Grand Prix

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Author information

Keith Collantine

Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...
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41 comments on ““Do something, please!” The radio calls which show how Leclerc lost at Silverstone”

A M (@amam)
6th July 2022, 14:19

Anyone remember 2017 and 2018 when Ferrari were battling Mercs for the titles? SF70 and SF71H great cars, on par with Mercs, but persistent team/strategy mistakes ruined Ferrari’s chances? Well, looks like we are having a repeat of the same in 2022—Ferrari have a great car, on par with the RB, but as per usual, Ferrari are hitting the self destruct button.
1. Jere (@jerejj)
  6th July 2022, 14:55
  
  @amam Yes, & also Seb’s unforced errors + unreliability to an extent.
  1. Neel Jani (@neelv27)
    7th July 2022, 6:17
    
    @jerejj – absolutely and hence it pains more seeing how Ferrari is messing up even when the driver is not making the same no. of mistakes Seb did during his time.
2. roadrunner (@roadrunner)
  6th July 2022, 15:00
  
  Pretty much a reminder of Hockenheim 2018… Slow decision making, bad leadership and bad strategy calls.
  1. Bruno Verrari
    7th July 2022, 20:25
    
    Heartbrakingly inefficient Champmakers……and they said no to Jean Todt to finally get things right again?!!
3. JackL
  6th July 2022, 15:07
  
  It very much is the same. Most of the personnel are the same, only Mattia and a few senior execs have changed. So its no surprise they’re making the same mistakes. Leclerc needs to be more assertive and be prepared to take charge from the cockpit if he needs to.
  Sainz questioning strategy in the car has shades of Alonso from 2012. The issue is very clearly with Ferrari.
4. Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
  6th July 2022, 15:32
  
  @amam
  The SF70 was a downforce monster but was also a draggy car that lacked top speed, high speed aero and reliability. It was not on par with the Mercedes W08 on a full season. Ferrari started the season very well but lost competitiveness throughout the season as a result of the technical directives issued by the FIA with regard to its floor and especially the oil burn trick.
  
  The SF71H on the other hand is a championship winning car, no question about that. It was only slower than Mercedes in 3 races : Singapore, Russia and Japan for a faulty upgrade that once removed the car regained competitivity. Hamilton was simply operating on a different level compared to the Ferrari drivers and Mercedes were the better team overall. A semi retired Raikkonen was able to win a race with the SF71H. Alonso for example could have won the championship with that car in 2018.
  1. Todfod (@todfod)
    7th July 2022, 7:38
    
    Agree man. Ferrari’s 2018 machine was an absolute monster. It was incredibly fast on almost all tracks. They were quicker than Mercedes on pure pace in more than half the races that season. It was just poor driving under pressure from Vettel and the usual Ferrari mismanagement / lack of strategy that lost them that season.
    
    This season, the car doesn’t look as good as Red Bull, but it’s pretty close in the hands of Leclerc. Too bad that Ferrari actually wants that car to be fast in the hands of Sainz.. because thats not going to happen.
  2. fafiteee
    7th July 2022, 12:13
    
    2018 was Vettel choking, but 2017 was all down to Singapore and reliability at the Asian races in general. IMO he was driving better than Hamilton that year.
    1. Esploratore (@esploratore1)
      9th July 2022, 2:02
      
      I think they were up there, hamilton and vettel as drivers in 2017, vettel losing points with mistakes but generally being on the pace and hamilton with less mistakes but some slow races.
  3. Steveetienne
    7th July 2022, 19:59
    
    Alonso would win a championship in this years Ferrari too.
5. JackL
  6th July 2022, 18:23
  
  Im not convinced that team orders wouldve helped. If Leclerc was so fast, he wouldve been all over Sainz’s gearbox the way Perez and Hamilton were on his later in the race. I think Leclerc was maybe a few tenths faster, but not enough to make a big difference. When they did let him past and Hamilton was still one used mediums, he was only catching him by a tenth or two a lap. By the time Hamilton came in the gap was mid-17s, and its not like Leclerc was setting the timing screens alight.
  1. anon
    6th July 2022, 20:38
    
    JackL, if it was a few tenths on average, a difference of 0.2s over 38 laps would equate to a 7.6s gap by the time the safety car came out – which might well have been enough for the team to have made it possible to double stack both drivers without losing any time during the pit stops.
    
    For what it is worth, whilst Sainz initially was able to stay reasonably close to Leclerc for the first couple of laps after being ordered to let Leclerc through, once Sainz fell outside of DRS range on lap 34, that gap grew from 1.5s to 4.2s in 4 laps. Now, there is a tyre life advantage in Leclerc’s favour that skews the picture, but that does point towards there being a noticeable advantage in Leclerc’s favour nevertheless.
  2. BasCB (@bascb)
    6th July 2022, 21:07
    
    Yeah, from what I saw in the race, Leclerc wasn’t that much faster at all when he did not get DRS from Sainz anymore. Off course it IS possible that running behind damaged his tyres a bit though.
floodo1
6th July 2022, 14:25

Leclerc The soft will be quicker for how many laps? Adami Copy.
Marcos Padros We think only two

lol
JohnH (@johnrkh)
6th July 2022, 14:26

If Enzo Ferrari was still around there would have been several ex-Ferrari team members before Sainz had gotten out of his car.
1. Bruno Verrari
  7th July 2022, 20:28
  
  Fully agree.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
6th July 2022, 14:31

He may not be as quick, but I much prefer Sainz’s approach to getting past his team-mate.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
6th July 2022, 15:04

Yeah I told you he’d lose a lot of slipstream

Says the guy who cooked his own tyres and then did not consider that his teammate’s tyres got cooked as well, sitting on his gearbox.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
6th July 2022, 15:26

So, Ferrari has strategy problems for sure, but this race underlined that SAI barely obey the orders. I reckon there’re some doubts SAI would have succeeded what Ferrari wanted from him, but it was possible. More exactly, protect LEC, and finish in 1-2 for Ferrari.
1. Gabriel (@naylamp)
  6th July 2022, 15:39
  
  I think that too. If SAI would’ve given 10 car space to LEC, maybe Ferrari could’ve ended with a 1-2. SAI had better tools (car 100%, better tyres) to defend from HAM and PER.
2. BasCB (@bascb)
  6th July 2022, 21:09
  
  I think that how Perez looked, he might have blasted past Sainz just as fast as Sainz now found his way past Leclerc and would have probably won the race (possibly from Hamilton and either Leclerc or Sainz depending on how much Sainz would actually be able to fend of the others)
Mark in Florida
6th July 2022, 15:49

People wonder why Michael Schumacher was so ruthless and always insisted on contractual priority. It was to avoid this kind of mess. Binnochio needs to go. He is destroying the team with poor leadership by trying to avoid controversy with that silly we don’t have a number one driver. What you end up with is a big pile of number two drivers. Does he honestly think that Charles will continue to do his best when he’s never certain that his efforts will be rewarded? The Ferrari strategy is so cryptic as to be not understood at all. Ferrari have completely lost the plot this year following Binnochio’s logic. Red Bull let’s Perez win when it’s not hurting Max or he’s out of the race. But Ferrari? They take their best driver give him the worst strategies. They fail to put him when they had plenty of time to do so. Then claim they did it because they didn’t want to double stack the cars to put on the faster soft tires. The driver that would have been hurt the most maybe would have been Carlos but he’s not even in the hunt for a championship. So they give him the winning strategy and leave Charles hung out to dry. I just don’t understand why they are so pathetic and apathetic about their decision making.
1. Robbie (@robbie)
  6th July 2022, 18:21
  
  I do hear what you are saying and I just wonder if they thought they should throw CS a bone at Silverstone. He got his first pole. He was doing well enough in the race and I just wonder if, when they saw Max disadvantaged, they saw an opportunity that wouldn’t hurt CL as much but that would pick CS up and perhaps propel him to better performances for the rest of the season that could have a knock on effect of helping CL in his fight with Max. Of course the other side of the coin would be that what better time to promote CL as high as possible while Max was going to be limited in his points tally on the day. Not sure. At one point we heard the radio comm that they were free to race.
  
  Anyway, the bottom line for CL remains that his job is to outqualify and outrace his teammate and Max and any other blokes that try to get in his way, so that he can avoid any more annoying team order type stuff completely, and stamp his authority on the Championship. I realize his own team may trip him up in that effort, but still that is harder to do when you’re starting the race from pole and running away from the group when at all possible.
  1. Mark in Florida
    6th July 2022, 19:07
    
    (@robbie) I don’t think it matters if Charles is on pole or in the lead. Ferrari will figure it out some weird esoteric pit strategy that will mess up his race. Ferrari has lost the plot on what it takes to win. La Gazzetta is raging at Binotto and reportedly most team supporters are upset with him. He said he didn’t care, he has a long term strategy for the team and winning titles isn’t it. Huh? What the H kind of strategy is that? He’s trying to build up the team he says as a whole. Car development technology etc. But as we’ve seen in the past a teams advantage doesn’t last long when new rules come into play and you have a cost cap now. So whatever advantage Ferrari has will be eaten away by Merc and RB. Binotto is squandering the teams and Charles chances on a strategy that is no strategy. This misguided cluck needs to go pronto!
2. MacLeod (@macleod)
  7th July 2022, 7:44
  
  Sainz is now a WC contender as he is 9-11 points behind Charles?
  1. Steve K
    7th July 2022, 14:43
    
    It’s more fun to criticize Ferrari for winning a race than it is to look at the standings in early July.
  2. Jordi Casademunt (@casjo)
    7th July 2022, 18:45
    
    It only took Leclerc having 2 retirements for mechanical issues while leading the race, starting a race from 19th due to a power unit penalty, and getting a botched strategy in the last race for Sainz to close the gap to 11 points. Not bad.
    
    Sainz has had 3 retirements, but 1 was self inflicted and he didn’t seem to be in contention for the win in the others (but Imola was lap 1 so who knows).
3. Bruno Verrari
  8th July 2022, 9:32
  
  Bring back Jean Todt as planned – he is able to get Charles and Ferrari the crowns. Not Binocchio!
Aland
6th July 2022, 16:23

Interesting comments mostly critical of Ferrari management for not imposing team orders to favour LeClerc. Usually, when a team uses team orders, the comment columns are full of condemnation that the team is favouring one driver over another. Personally, I would prefer no team orders, especially not at this stage of the season.
1. FLIG (@flig)
  6th July 2022, 17:09
  
  Indeed, no matter what the decision (orders or not) the team will receive criticism. We’re not even half way through the season, Sainz still has a shot at the title and he did outscore Leclerc last year, so while I agree Leclerc looks faster, it’s too early to destroy Sainz’s racing spirit with a clear number two status. Let’s see what a win does to his confidence, it could bea turning point.
2. grapmg (@)
  6th July 2022, 17:40
  
  Good point and SAI is now only 11 points behind LEC so everything to play for
  1. Mayrton
    7th July 2022, 7:38
    
    You could argue that is even worse, since Ferrari lets their drivers take points from eachother. Imho Leclerc is the real deal and Sainz is a good driver bit prone to silly mistakes. They should maximize points in favor of Leclerc anytime if you havent won anything over decades.
Green Flag (@greenflag)
6th July 2022, 21:18

Sainz is basically Bottas in a red race suit, except Bottas was a faster and more consistent wingman. Unfortunately Binotto doesn’t have the guts to make Sainz Lerclerc’s official wingman, so Ferrari is putting both championships at risk.
1. Mayrton
  7th July 2022, 13:23
  
  Fully agree, especially when you haven’t won anything in years this is quite frankly unacceptable from a team with this stature and history. The playing field is one that has determined a team races with two cars. It’s an integral part of the sport and therefore also the strategy and tactics. I see zero reason why Leclerc wouldn’t be able to do what Lewis and Max did. Given the right car he will win the championship but he needs the team to fully support him and only him, like with the other two mentioned.
Darryn Smith (@darryn)
7th July 2022, 4:06

Throwing out that it is Ferrari, Leclerc doesn’t seem to have the hockey iq that someone like Hamilton or Verstappen or any other winner has.
1. DaveW (@dmw)
  7th July 2022, 15:01
  
  Cut him some slack. Remember that while Hamilton came on the scene a superstar, after 2009, he was quick, but he was often a bit if a mess, made a lot of silly errors, seemed to lose focus at the wrong times. It took him like 8 years to be the driver he is now. And while verstappen is still young its easy to forget he has been an f1 driver for a good while already in a top team that has groomed him continuously.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
7th July 2022, 6:12

This season must be as frustrating for Leclerc as it’s boring for us to watch. The FIA needs to beg Ferrari to improve its strategy for the sake of the sport.
1. Todfod (@todfod)
  7th July 2022, 7:41
  
  @freelittlebirds
  
  The only hope we have for a championship battle is Red Bull running out of the budget early so that they can’t upgrade their car and bring any new parts. But knowing Ferrari.. they will probably have Leclerc retiring with engine problems during most of these races.
Jogo
7th July 2022, 17:22

As i said last year this pair reminds me of Alesi and Berger stuff. The only difference is that those two were older (began to lose speed) and the car was worse. A lot of speedy impulsive mistakes from Leclerc still ahead.
1. Esploratore (@esploratore1)
  9th July 2022, 2:10
  
  Perhaps sainz could be compared to those, not leclerc.