Ferrari did a great job with their strategy at the Japanese Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc moved up from eighth to fourth using just one pit stop, which is rare. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz had a longer second stint on medium tires. This meant he had fresher hard tires for the last part of the race, helping him pass four cars and finish third.
Sainz praised Ferrari’s strategy improvements over the past few years. However, he believes the biggest reason for their recent success is their better car, the SF-24. He said, “We’ve made progress on strategy over the last three years, progressively, but if you see a jump this year on strategy, it’s purely down to the car.”
Last year, Ferrari had trouble with their race performance. This meant that even if they had good strategies, they couldn’t make them work well. Sainz explained that their car had a lot of tire degradation, so they couldn’t extend their stints. This made it hard for them to compete well during races.
But this year, with a better car, they have more flexibility with their strategies. Their car is faster and takes care of the tires better. Sainz said, “When you have a car that is better on tires, two drivers that can push on the car more often and you have that extra flexibility, your strategy also looks better.”
Ferrari’s recent success in strategy is thanks to their improved car performance. They can now compete better in races and make smarter decisions about when to pit and which tires to use.