Binotto questions Ferrari strategy criticism after Mercedes 'mistake'

Sam Hall
Monday 31 October 2022 13:35

Mattia Binotto has questioned why F1 critics are not reacting to Mercedes' strategy 'mistake' at the Mexico City Grand Prix in the same manner as they would have if Ferrari had been at fault.

The Scuderia has taken flack on a number of occasions this season for strategy calls that have either cost potential race wins or resulted in the team dropping points.

When Ferrari fitted the hard compound tyre to Charles Leclerc's car in Hungary, the team was widely criticised heavily for what transpired to be a strategic blunder.

But in Mexico City, Mercedes tried a similar tactic with both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell complaining about the decision via team radio.

Pointing to another instance of questionable tactics at the United States Grand Prix where Hamilton also finished second to Max Verstappen, Ferrari team principal Binotto said: “In Hungary, we were being criticised and normally when we are doing things which are not completely right.

"Mercedes maybe have lost the last race as well by not choosing the right tyres in Austin.

“It is not only down to us to make different choices or mistakes."

Ferrari gamble despite tyre management concerns

Ferrari has struggled with tyre wear this season but ran the optimal strategy using the soft and medium compounds in Sunday's race.

Despite this requiring significant levels of management from Carlos Sainz and Leclerc factoring into an overwhelmingly disappointing result for Ferrari - the pair finishing fifth and sixth - Binotto maintains the call was the right one.

“So why we came to the conclusion here before the race in terms of the strategy of starting on the soft and then the medium was the best choice was, having tested them on Friday, we saw there was not much degradation on the soft and it was sufficient to run a one-stop with a medium. So we went for it," he added.

“Certainly then, in the race, we had to manage our tyres to make sure that we were surviving on a one-stop and that maybe as well was a cause of our slowest pit stops today.

“Managing tyres has certainly been a subject for us but still, we believe that soft-medium was the right choice for the race.”