Ferrari chief Mattia Binotto defended the team's decision to pit Carlos Sainz amid the latter's tight fight with Red Bull's Sergio Perez in the final part of the French Grand Prix. A strong recovery drive from last on the grid had carried Sainz all the way into the top five by mid-race when the Scuderia charger engaged in a fierce battle for third with Perez. With 12 laps to go, the Spaniard eventually got the measure of the Red Bull driver, but simultaneously his team called him in for a final pit stop. Sainz dismissed the first call but duly pitted a lap later, a stop during which he also executed a five-second penalty that had been imposed on him for an unsafe release earlier in the...
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