BBC F1 broadcaster Julian Palmer has criticized Ferrari’s approach to the British Grand Prix after Charles Leclerc missed the podium finish.
Leclerc finished in fourth place, missing out on a potential win after a late safety car stopped his charge. He was leading a Ferrari 1–2 when the safety car came out with 15 laps to go, but the Scuderia opted to bring in Carlos Sainz only for new softer tyres.
This meant that when the race resumed under Leclerc’s leadership, he was on aging dire tires and had to prevent Sainz, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton from passing him off the podium. was powerless for – all of whom had raised anew
“That’s the question of money – why?” Palmer reflected on the BBC’s Checkered Flag podcast when asked why Ferrari placed the car in second place and not the leader.
“Leclerc was the strongest driver at Ferrari today. I am really happy for Carlos Sainz but today was not really his best day. He was not that quick. Leclerc was fast with a damaged front wing.
“He should have raced, but Ferrari pitted Sainz and didn’t pit Leclerc – and he is the main man in the championship. There were also question marks over whether Leclerc should have let Leclerc go through the previous Sainz. Should have given up when Leclerc was so fast. He wasn’t too happy about it from the cockpit.”
Given that it was a day when his title rival Max Verstappen was out of contention for a win due to a loss at his Red Bull, Palmer believes it is important to keep Leclerc standing and ensure maximum impact on the Drivers’ Championship. For Ferrari dropped the ball.
“I think Leclerc would be really unhappy with this race unfolding,” he said.
“The management has some questions to answer because Leclerc should have taken big points from Verstappen today. When he is struggling with car problems, he has taken all six points from Verstappen. If you want to win the title If so, that’s not good enough.”
Binotto explained after the race why Ferrari made the decisions he had made, and Palmer stated that Sainz’s victory may have only added to Leclerc’s disappointment with the final result.
“I think it’s almost hard for Leclerc to win Sainz, because it’s almost ‘the strategy I should have been on’ and he took an easy win in the end,” he said.
“He is a good team-mate and he will be happy to get his first win for his teammate. But if you just look at Charles’ season – Barcelona [he] Should have won, was leading – engine failure.
“Monaco – should have won. [He] Leading, was terrible strategy. Baku – Could have won, was leading, engine failure. Canada where he came from behind to fifth and then here, leading-terrible strategy.
“How hard could he have run in the last five races. In all of them, he has taken two retirements, two fourth and fifth. He was also quite disappointed with the team. I think it’s starting to thin out a bit for him now.” . They have to support the team, but they are not doing right by them at the moment.”
Fellow podcast guest Harry Benjamin agreed with Palmer that Ferrari appears to be inconclusive about whether Leclerc is actually fighting for the title.
“Leclerc should have let go sooner, he lost so much time behind him (Sainz),” he said.
“I loved the fact that they were able to race but if you’re a Ferrari, you’re trying to think about the long game.
“If we are still saying that Ferrari are in this title fight, Sainz is now only 11 points behind Leclerc in the standings. I don’t think you can really say with confidence that Leclerc is the major championship contender on that team now.
“I don’t think it’s too harsh to say that Leclerc was a title contender from the start and the fact that he is becoming less and less and eventually losing his chance to fight for a title – it’s not his fault Well, it’s Ferrari’s.”
