The Austrian Grand Prix turned into a roller coaster ride for Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc. Although he was fighting for a P5 spot for most of the race, the last couple of laps pushed the Monegaske down to P8, which hurt his hopes of getting there.
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Ferrari also played a role in Leclerc’s loss of position, which only took place laps before the checkered flag; the Maranello team ordered Leclerc to let his teammate Carlos Sainz pass.
It’s a shame, of course, that the team orders have dashed Leclerc’s hopes for another top-class finish at the Red Bull Ring. But Ferrari will by and large be very happy to enforce such an order for the two-time pole sitter in 2021.
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Formula 1 F1 – Austrian Grand Prix – Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Styria, Austria – July 4, 2021 Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc during the REUTERS / Leonhard Foeger race
The swap unleashed Sainz with much fresher tires on Ricciardo, who until then had defended his heart against Leclerc. Finally, on the lap of the race, Sainz made a pretty easy move against the Australian to secure a strong P5 spot for Ferrari.
So Leclerc wasn’t necessarily disappointed with Ferrari’s decision, given the outcome.
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What did the Ferrari driver say?
During the post-race interview, Leclerc said that Ferrari’s decision was pretty obvious as it didn’t surprise him.
“Yeah, it felt like there was a chance to get over at some point because I was close every lap. But of course they asked me to swap cars because it had the tire advantage over the reverse strategy. I did that, ”said Leclerc.
Before the driver swap, Leclerc was on P7, Sainz directly behind him on P8. So it looked like 10 points was all they could get out of the race. Due to the swap, however, Sainz jumped onto the track on P6.
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In addition, the Spaniard has gained an additional position on Sergio Perez, who had taken a 10-second time penalty.
Ultimately, the Maranello team managed to score 14 points over the weekend, which is definitely some damage limitation for the team considering their rival McLaren estimated an incredible race to score 21 points.
So, with the McLaren-Ferrari gap widening over the weekend, can the Reds try to narrow the gap with the papayas this coming Silverstone race weekend?
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View history: Biggest crashes from 2020 with Leclerc, Vettel & Grosjean
The post Leclerc reveals why he has Ferrari F1 team orders at the Austrian GP with Sainz. has accepted first appeared on monter-une-startup.
