Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto’s promise to work harder and improve their pit-stops has been showing results as of late.
The Italian team have had issues while pitting for a long time. Slow stops have cost both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc some good points in the 2021 F1 season. Sainz’s slow stops in Turkey and, more recently in Austin, limited Ferrari’s points haul and frustrated the Spaniard.
After the US Grand Prix last month, Binotto promised that the team would work harder on this issue ever since he said that the Scuderia pit-crew has been nailing every pit stop made by both drivers.
The Ferraris have consistently been in the top 10 (in terms of pit stop duration) for the next three races after Austin. They put in the 3rd and 4th best times in Mexico City, followed by the fastest pitstop of the weekend for Sainz at Interlagos.
Last weekend’s Qatar GP saw the Ferrari pit-crew perform a perfectly executed double-stack, with both drivers having to stop for below 2.5 seconds.
It seems as though the team did work overtime in Maranello to resolve the issues.
Also read: Charles Leclerc is finally at ease after Ferrari changed his damaged chassis last weekend
Ferrari strengthen their lead over McLaren after a strong Qatar GP
The Italian team have been battling for P3 in the Championship with McLaren in 2021. They were behind the Surrey-based team for most of the season but picked off massively in the latter half. They took the lead from McLaren at the Mexican GP earlier this month and had been growing on it ever since.
Sainz finished P7 followed by Leclerc in P8 at the Losail International Circuit last weekend. Meanwhile, Lando Norris of McLaren finished in 9th, whereas his teammate Daniel Ricciardo finished out of the points.
Their advantage over the British team has increased as a result. Ferrari is now 39.5 points ahead of McLaren with just two races to go. The F1 Championship continues in 2 weeks when the sport makes its debut in Saudi Arabia.
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