Prior to the 2022 British GP, TJ13 wrote an article in which they said Ferrari’s strategy was ineffective, and it turned out to be true with Carlos Sainz going viral for his stop inventing term
With 13 circuits remaining with the safety car out, Carlos Sainz assumed control of the team’s strategy.
When the safety car was brought out to notify race leader Charles LeClerc to pit, Ferrari had 11 seconds, but it seemed to hesitate. LeClerc, Sainz, and Hamilton were all using the hard tyre at the time, which would get them through to the finish line.
Carlos Sainz Defies Ferrari Team Orders To Win British GP 2022 As He Asks Team To Stop Inventing Problems
Along with Lewis Hamilton, Sainz, who was a few seconds further back than LeClerc, made a pit stop for the soft tyre. Charles LeClerc was left hanging when the race restarted as a result. Every time Ferrari has faced a surprise this season, whether it be rain or a safety car, they tend to freeze and fail to take advantage of the situation.
The gap to Hamilton at the time was sufficient for the team to keep P1 and P2, even if they had double-stacked their drivers.
More perplexingly, as the restart approached, Ferrari instructed Sainz to leave his teammate 10 car lengths on the tougher tyres, presumably to give him a chance to keep the lead against Hamilton, who like Sainz was now running on new, much faster tyres.
The order is to allow Charles 10 car lengths as breathing room, according to the team radio. Sainz clashed with his engineer, mentioning Hamilton’s pressure on him. LeClerc was eventually passed by the Spaniard four turns into the restart lap while they were still within a car length of each other.
Stop inventing is my favourite phrase from now on pic.twitter.com/zpqVxM0Xth
— Mแดแดแด ๐ II CARLOS WIN!!!โค๏ธ๐ถ (@sainz_only) July 4, 2022
"Stop inventing" pic.twitter.com/1KbHpMPO3k
— El Bottas Argento ๐ฆ๐ท (@BottasArgento) July 3, 2022
Sainz: “Guys, Hamilton is putting pressure on me. Don’t ask these questions, please. Stop inventing, I’m also under pressure, so let’s stop.” I think they [Ferrari] merely wanted to give Charles time to warm his tyres up,” said Jenson Button after the checkered flag.
Earlier in the race, when Sainz was in the lead but Hamilton was closing in on him, the team twice refused to give team orders. When Hamilton rejoined the race, Mercedes had a slim chance to pit for fresh tyres and pass the Ferraris.
On lap 31, Sainz finally received the team directive to let LeClerc through, preventing Mercedes from jumping LeClerc. Charles then went on to pull away from his Spanish teammate by 3.5 seconds.
The Ferrari crew is currently doing a debrief, and LeClerc will be pressing the squad to explain why they weren’t prepared for the safety car. The Sky commentators saw it coming a few seconds before the race authorities decided to use it.
After the chequered flag, LeClerc was observed protesting team president Matt Binotto. Binotto then reprimanded him by pointing a finger in the Monegasque’s direction.
In a statement to the media, LeClerc said, “I had old hard tyres and clearly everyone around me had new softs so I was battling significantly. But in the end, I was able toโI mean, I gave it everything I had, but it was sufficient.
LeClerc was clearly faster and harassing Sainz during that time, but the team refused to order Carlos to move aside.