08/09/2020 - 14:50
- Clarín.com
- sports
The Ferrari drivers ended the Formula 1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix with mixed feelings: Monegasque Charles Leclerc celebrated his fourth place, while German Sebastian Vettel, twelfth, criticized the Italian team's strategy and accused it of undermining it.
The four-time world champion, who started eleventh after a poor classification, made a mistake when braking at the first corner, which led him to do half a spin and move to last place. Still, he finished 12th in a comeback that he thought would have been better with a different strategy.
"I had a good start but then I had nowhere to go. I suppose it was the piano. I lost the car suddenly and since then my career has been compromised," explained Vettel about his problem at the beginning of the race.
But beyond this, the Teutonic driver was very tough on the team's strategy. And he considered that they made him change the tires at the time when there was more traffic on the track, which hampered his comeback.
Vettel had Leclerc at 1.5s and from the wall comes the order:
Adami: "And box, Sebastian, box ...."
Vettel: "I feel good with these wheels, I want to continue ..."
Adami: "We stopped to put the hard one, please confirm "pic.twitter.com/LmJPeVytQP
"The strategy was not adequate and we did not ask to come back. I am not happy because we talked about this scenario before the race and we made the mistake we wanted to avoid. I do not know what they were thinking. We got stuck in traffic. and being the fourth car on the train, you can't do anything. It has been disappointing, "he said.
In response to the criticism of the German, Mattia Binotto came out to respond, a visible face of Ferrari beyond the fact that he was recently displaced as a team of the team. Binotto pointed out: "It is a difficult moment for him. He made a career upward. I don't think our strategy has penalized him, he would still have finished twelfth."
For his part, Leclerc, who had started in eighth place and finished fourth, was the opposite of his teammate's complaints. "I am very happy, for me this fourth is like a victory. Of course it does not sound good that we call a fourth place a victory, but at this moment it is where we are," said the Monegasque rider, who was third in the absence of the last ten laps, but that succumbed to the push of the British Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) who had just put new tires.
Leclerc explained that last season his main problem was conserving the tires and that his performance this Sunday, on a circuit where keeping the wheels from wear and tear was key for all teams, generates "great satisfaction".
"I was hoping to finish 8th at best this morning or lower in the standings, so I'm extremely happy with this fourth place," he added.
(With information from EFE)
