Charles Leclerc has been left questioning why Ferrari did not employ team orders at the end of the Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver finished fourth, one spot behind team-mate Carlos Sainz in the 71-lap affair at Interlagos.
With Sergio Perez seventh, he and Leclerc are now tied on points for second in the drivers’ championship – the latter ahead on countback.
Having recovered from a clash with Lando Norris early on the race, Leclerc called on his team to move Sainz aside to give him three additional championship points.
“We had a discussion with the team before the race, otherwise I don’t ask for this pass,” the Monegasque driver said.
“But the decision has changed for some reason, and it’s like this.
“I will speak with the team to understand why it has changed, and I hope that we’ll be quick enough in Abu Dhabi to get that second position in the championship.”
Had Ferrari reversed its drivers, Sainz would have been forced to surrender a podium finish.
“Carlos did an incredible job, and it is really because he did a great race today,” Leclerc added.
“Again, if we didn’t have that discussion I would have asked.”
Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto defended the decision not to employ team orders, arguing that a potential post-race time penalty made the situation difficult.
Question marks hung over Yuki Tsunoda’s role in the train behind the Safety Car after the Scuderia AlphaTauri was not allowed to unlap himself.
That uncertainty also involved Sainz, with Ferrari opting to take a conservative approach.
“Swapping the two cars on the last straight was tricky because Charles [had] Fernando Alonso and Max just behind, so certainly tricky and somehow dangerous,” Binotto began.
“More than that, we knew that we were under investigation for what happened behind the Safety Car with Tsunoda.
“We were cleared up by Race Control at the time, so we were quite comfortable, but without having a conclusion on that was another matter.
“It would have been risky because [a] five-second penalty, for example, would mean that then Carlos would have been losing more than one position.
“So, for the constructors’ championship, it was certainly better to stick with the positions and the gaps.”
Ironically, Red Bull did employ team orders, allowing Verstappen to pass Perez in the final stanza, only for the Dutchman to refuse to give sixth place back on the run to the chequered flag.
Ferrari sits second in the constructors’ championship just 19 points clear of Mercedes, which claimed a one-two in Brazil, and George Russell took line honours in the Sprint.
Prize money is paid out to teams based on the finishing position in that competition, hence it is prioritised over the drivers’ competition – it mattered not to Ferrari which of its cars was in third and which in fourth, provided with their focus on safeguarding the points those positions earned.
Discussion about this post