A good points haul in Zandvoort

Scuderia Ferrari brought home a good points haul from the Dutch Grand Prix, which took place in front of an amazing crowd. Fifth place for Charles Leclerc and seventh for Carlos Sainz sees Ferrari back up to third place in the Constructors’ classification.

No unnecessary risks. Right from the start, the aim of both Ferrari drivers was to go for the best possible result without taking any unnecessary risks, both in terms of strategy and the actual driving. This decision was taken on the basis that the tyres would be under a lot of strain at this track and therefore there was the possibility of a similar scenario to that seen at the Le Castellet circuit, with all the difficulties that followed on from that. It explains for example why both drivers were switched to the Hard compound tyres at the pit stops which came on lap 31 for Carlos and 34 for Charles. 

Matching expectations. The team was therefore vigilant throughout, always ready to exploit any opportunities, with the possibility of pushing others into making mistakes. In the end, the result matched expectations going into the race. 

Monza next. After a spectacular event in Zandvoort, we now move on to another venue noted for its enthusiastic crowd, Monza’s Autodromo Nazionale, which next weekend hosts the Italian Grand Prix. This will be the second round of the year featuring the Sprint Qualifying format. 

Charles Leclerc #16

I’m pretty happy with our overall performance of this weekend. Finishing with both cars in the points today is a good result.

The start was good, but then I didn’t want to take too many risks. I think the main surprise for everyone was how long the Mediums could last. Still, I think that the Soft–Hard combination was the right choice for us. We were very close in pace to the car ahead, but it was just not enough today.

The atmosphere was amazing, and it was really great to see so many people cheering in the grandstands. I can’t wait to see the same, just in red, in Monza next week.

Carlos Sainz #55

Overall it’s been a positive weekend for the team, although it hasn’t been the best for me, despite the good recovery from yesterday. My race today was very far from what I was looking for. I could not match the pace I had on Friday, as I completely lost the good feeling I’d had with the car up until then. I just couldn’t find the right balance, sliding too much and I had a lot of degradation. I was planning to attack and fight for positions, but I ended up having to defend. We need to analyse what happened today and move on. On the positive side, we scored some good points for the team, which puts us in a stronger position in the Constructors’. Now I am looking forward to Monza. It will be my first Italian GP as a Ferrari driver and I am sure it’ll be a weekend I will remember forever.

Mattia Binotto Team Principal

A solid race from the whole team, which allowed us to bring home a significant points haul for the Constructors’ classification. We knew that, on a track that is very demanding in terms of tyre management, we could have found ourselves in a situation similar to the one we experienced at the French Grand Prix, but the team and drivers have worked a lot on this aspect and the results of our efforts were clear to see.

Of course, it’s not a result to get really excited about and we are perfectly aware that there is still a lot to do to get back to the same level as those currently fighting for the wins.

Now our focus shifts immediately to the next race at Monza.After a great show from the Dutch fans this weekend, we can’t wait to be racing in front of our own tifosi and we hope we can give them something to smile about.