The return to victory at Silverstone, Carlos Sainz's first success in Formula 1 and the demonstration of a certain superiority of the Ferrari single-seater go hand in hand with the awareness of the disappointing fourth place of Charles Leclerc, who instead was in command before the entrance. of the safety car.
The next day in Maranello there were many issues to be addressed, technical and psychological, and the team principal himself, Mattia Binotto, accounted for them in part, through the team's website, saying first of all that he was above all "happy" for a victory for Ferrari in a circuit like Silverstone, "satisfied with the fantastic performance" of Sainz and equally dissatisfied with the result of Leclerc, whose disappointment he understands "perfectly".
Starting precisely from the Monegasque, Binotto underlines that "
yesterday he drove in an extraordinary way and demonstrated his exceptional talent for the umpteenth time.
He certainly deserved the victory, and had it not been for the safety car he would have won it. "
ANSA agency
F1: Sainz's Ferrari triumphs, then Perez and Hamilton - F1
A hard-fought Silverstone GP ended.
For the Spaniard, his first career victory: 'A special day'.
Fourth the other Ferrari driver Leclerc, seventh Verstappen.
Scary crash at the start involving Russell's Mercedes, Albon's Williams and Zhou's Alfa Romeo.
The pilots are fine (ANSA)
"Charles's disappointment is therefore also ours: we win and lose together".
Going then to examine some moments of the GP and the choices of the team, which have raised doubts among the fans, Binotto explains that "the priority is to maximize the team result. Team orders come only when this is in jeopardy. It happened in second stint - he underlines - when we asked Carlos to give up the position because he wasn't fast enough and our rivals were about to catch up with us. "
As for the decision to stop the Spaniard and not Leclerc under the safety car, the team principal explains that "in a similar situation common sense says to give priority to whoever is in front so that he does not lose positions on the track. Charles had fresher tires.
if we had stopped him, our opponents would have opted for the opposite strategy and would have gained positions.
If we had put both drivers on the same strategy, we would have risked losing the race. "
ANSA.it
F1 SPECIAL: British GP, order of arrival and standings - Specials
The Spaniard's Ferrari triumphs at Silverstone © ANSA
Finally, Binotto denies that Carlos ignored the team's orders: "He made it clear to us that he had to protect himself from our opponents, and in this way he was also protecting our advantage. We were all aligned on this. I realize that without having a picture complete the situation, you can have the feeling that Carlos is not a team player. But a few laps before he had given up his position without hesitation or complaint, showing that for him the team comes first. "
