Charles Leclerc earned his second podium finish of the 2023 season with a P2 finish in Austria. However, the story could have been very different for him, had Carlos Sainz overtaken him in the race’s opening stages. Fred Vasseur, Ferrari’s team principal ended up issuing team orders that protected Leclerc, allowing him to build up a gap to those behind. After the race, Vasseur explained why he instructed Sainz to hold his position despite being much faster.
Sainz was the faster Ferrari driver in the first few laps of the race and was lapping much quicker than anyone else on the track (except for Verstappen). He was within DRS range and striking zone of his teammate Leclerc. And people watching the battle between the two Ferrari drivers were sure that Sainz would eventually pass the Monegasque.
However, Sainz played the ultimate team game and listened to the instructions that were passed on to him. He held position and defended well, but lost out on a podium place unlike his teammate Leclerc, who finished second behind Verstappen.
Ferrari defend its decision to protect Charles Leclerc from Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz was evidently unhappy with Ferrari’s decision to prioritize Leclerc over him in Spielberg on Sunday. However, according to Vasseur, it was a call that he took keeping the team’s best interests in mind.
“At the beginning, we decided our interest for the team was to pull away from P4-P5 and to not attack ourselves,” said Vasseur after the race as quoted by Ferrari News. “When you are behind, you are much faster with DRS and we didn’t want to swap every two laps.”
Sainz had to settle for P4 at the end, with his performance not strong enough to hold Red Bull’s Sergio Perez off. A post-race penalty saw the Spaniard slip even down the order. His final result was sixth, which will be gut-wrenching for him, considering the pace he was showing in the early parts of the race.
Sainz insists Ferrari’s strategy cost him a podium finish
Sainz did well to play the team game and help Leclerc to his second podium finish of the season. However, when it comes to his own result, the Madrid-born driver wasn’t pleased and bashed Ferrari for not paying attention to his needs. Instead, he felt he suffered because of the sacrifices he made.
“I feel I played the team game,” he said to Sky Sports after the race. “Staying behind and being penalized in the way I was with the pit stop. Losing a lot of time, and losing the three positions and six seconds with the VSC ending when we could have done something differently frustrated me “.
Sainz’s P6 finish still keeps him above Leclerc in the championship standings for the time being. He is P5, with 82 points to his name. Leclerc is a place behind him in sixth, with 72 points.
