Ferrari hold no regret over "cautious" Imola strategy

Ferrari

Ferrari hold no regret over "cautious" Imola strategy

Leclerc lost out to Norris at the red flag restart to miss out on a podium

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Thursday 22 April 2021 10:55

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Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto has remained steadfast on the Scuderia's tactical decision to surrounding Charles Leclerc in Sunday's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Following Lewis Hamilton's off-track excursion on lap 31 at Imola, Leclerc inherited a comfortable second position which proved short-lived after a collision between Valtteri Bottas and George Russell led to a red-flag period, putting him under pressure from those behind.

Upon the restart and on medium tyres, Leclerc was immediately passed by McLaren driver Lando Norris whose team had gambled by placing him and team-mate Daniel Ricciardo onto the softs.

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Despite those tyres giving Norris an advantage with faster surface temperature warm-up in the cold, damp conditions, Binotto was insistent the team made the correct call for Leclerc.

“This is something that we discussed for a long time in the morning at the strategy meeting with the engineers and the drivers," said Binotto.

“We felt that on a long stint, because it was at least 30 laps to the end at that stage, the soft would have suffered degradation which, for example, happened to [Daniel] Ricciardo but not to Norris.

“Our choice was for the medium because we thought that was the most cautious and right decision.”

With Ferrari and McLaren seemingly locked in a battle over third in the constructors' championship, Leclerc is interested in how the differences between the two cars will aid performance across different track layouts.

“The McLaren has its strengths and its weaknesses," said Leclerc. "What makes it a really nice fight is that we are quick in different places on the track and it makes it a very fun battle."