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Binotto thinks there was nothing wrong with Leclerc strategy in Baku

Binotto thinks there was "nothing wrong" with Leclerc strategy in Baku

29-04-2019 17:46
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Nicolás Quarles van Ufford

Despite the many criticisms of the strategy Charles Leclerc was on during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto thinks there wasn't anything wrong with the tactics, as the Monegasque came home in fifth place.

After his crash in qualifying, Leclerc started from eighth place on the medium tyres. The 21-year-old made quick work of cutting through the midfield, and eventually working his way up to first place as all drivers in front stopped for fresh rubber.

Leclerc stayed out on his mediums for the majority of the race, as he didn't have a second set of mediums available, and the Mercedes cars of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton eventually caught up to him. Leclerc's pace fell off a cliff as the race progressed, but he stayed out until the latter stages of the race, when he bolted on some fresh softs.

Many questioned the strategy, arguing Leclerc should have come in sooner to keep his lead intact, but Binotto disagrees with that.

“It was something we already discussed together in the post-race debrief,” Binotto told Crash.net when asked about Leclerc's strategy.

“Certainly, maybe yes, we could have done a different gamble, maybe stopping earlier on our tyre or trying really to last very long on the medium.

"You may always discuss different solutions at the end of the race looking back, but I think that overall what we did was nothing wrong.”

Do you think Leclerc's strategy was the right one?