This is why Leclerc didn't make an extra pit stop during safety car

After the crash between Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris, the safety car entered the track and so Ferrari could have made a 'free' pit stop, as Perez did. Charles Leclerc could then have attacked race leader Max Verstappen on new tyres. Leclerc was driving behind Verstappen and so the Dutchman could never have countered Ferrari's decision.

Nevertheless, the Ferrari strategists decided to let both Leclerc and Sainz stay on tracked. Binotto explained the decision: "We made that choice because tyre warming here was easier with an already used tyre than with a new [tyre]. The old tire gave us the best chance to attack Verstappen in the laps after the safety car. And that's what Charles was able to do," the team boss said.

Tyre situation Ferrari

Ferrari had kept two new sets of the hard tyre and one set of brand new mediums for both drivers before the Grand Prix. On the tyre with the yellow band, Leclerc and Sainz left a little after 20:30. So they could really only switch to new hard tyres in the closing stages, but that would not have been to Ferrari's advantage.

A switch to mediums could have paid off, because the rubber is a bit softer, but Leclerc's used set of mediums had already done so many laps that this was no longer an option. A switch to softs also proved unfeasible. Leclerc might have been able to outrun Verstappen at the restart, but he would have had too little left at the end of the race.

Red Bull did have mediums left

In that respect, Red Bull Racing had planned the weekend better in terms of strategy. They arrived at the start of the race with two new sets of mediums and a new set of hards. It did cause Sergio Perez to be brought in for new tires under the safety car. Starting from fourth, a podium place therefore seemed a real possibility, but sensor problems prevented that.