Photo: Scuderia Ferrari Press Office
We’re just days away from Formula 1 returning to the track, with the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix next on the calendar. As it stands today, Ferrari trail Red Bull in the 2022 Constructor Standings by 97 points, which means they can’t afford any more slip-ups in terms of strategy.
Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc is second in the standings with 178 points – a full 80 points behind leader Max Verstappen. As for Carlos Sainz, he’s in fifth place with 158 points.
During a recent interview, the Scuderia’s racing director, Laurent Mekies, admitted that his outfit might begin focusing more on one driver than the other, at some point this season.
“It is more discussed outside Ferrari than inside Ferrari [the topic of team orders]. But more seriously, again, we have always been very clear. We target to have the best result for the team,” he said.
“And then of course there will be a point where we will need to focus more on a driver compared to the other one if the championship position is requiring. So, it does not mean waiting for the mathematical difference, but it means being at the point of the season where you think it is the right thing to do so.”
When asked whether Sainz could take on a position of leadership within the team due to his excellent form as of late, Mekies insisted that Ferrari’s sole focus is making both drivers better.
“So, at first you are very right in saying that Carlos has had three extremely strong weekends: Silverstone, Austria, France. We are very, very happy with that. It did not show up so much on the final race classifications besides Silverstone because we had other things to deal with. But you are very right in saying that he has made great progress since the start of the season.”
He then went on to add: “We know we have two very, very good drivers. We treat them in a way that we can maximize our championship positions and we want them as fast as they can possibly be.”
During a recent interview, the Scuderia’s racing director, Laurent Mekies, admitted that his outfit might begin focusing more on one driver than the other, at some point this season.
“It is more discussed outside Ferrari than inside Ferrari [the topic of team orders]. But more seriously, again, we have always been very clear. We target to have the best result for the team,” he said.
“And then of course there will be a point where we will need to focus more on a driver compared to the other one if the championship position is requiring. So, it does not mean waiting for the mathematical difference, but it means being at the point of the season where you think it is the right thing to do so.”
When asked whether Sainz could take on a position of leadership within the team due to his excellent form as of late, Mekies insisted that Ferrari’s sole focus is making both drivers better.
“So, at first you are very right in saying that Carlos has had three extremely strong weekends: Silverstone, Austria, France. We are very, very happy with that. It did not show up so much on the final race classifications besides Silverstone because we had other things to deal with. But you are very right in saying that he has made great progress since the start of the season.”
He then went on to add: “We know we have two very, very good drivers. We treat them in a way that we can maximize our championship positions and we want them as fast as they can possibly be.”
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