Italy split after Ferrari's failed bid for victory
Jun.12 (GMM) Ferrari has defended itself amid claims its race strategy in Canada on Sunday was "suicidal".
Despite the Maranello team stepping forward again in performance terms, the Italian press was highly critical after Fernando Alonso's bid for victory went awry in Montreal.
La Stampa called persevering with the one-stop strategy a case of "Harakiri della Ferrari".
La Repubblica, meanwhile, said the strategy was "pazza, davvero pazza" (crazy, really crazy).
Team boss Stefano Domenicali, however, said it is easy to see the strategy was wrong in hindsight.
"Of course in hindsight my kids who are seven and eight years old could do the right thing," he insisted.
Domenicali said engineers discussed live the strategy choice with Alonso, and decided for one stop on the basis that the Spaniard was managing the degradation of the tyres well.
Again, in hindsight, it was obviously the wrong choice in light of his slide into the chasing pack.
"When you arrive at a certain moment, you have to go for one solution or another, so at that stage the situation was ok so we kept going in that direction," said Domenicali.
Alonso agrees.
"Grosjean nearly won the race with one stop, so it was the right strategy. We tried to win the race and it didn't work, but I was happy with the approach and the points," he added.
La Gazzetta dello Sport, the authoritative Italian sports daily, also backed Ferrari.
"For the first time this season, Ferrari took a gamble in a bid to win -- it backfired, but these things happen. It was worth the risk," the report read.
Share Or Save This Story
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
Pirelli chief calls for radical F1 overhaul
Fernando Alonso's only goal in no-hope Baku: Save parts for F1's triple-header
F1 driver contracts: How long is each driver tied down for?
Fernando Alonso’s idea to ‘save’ F1 before the V8 return – and how realistic it is
"Everything that could go wrong went wrong" for Ferrari in Fuji WEC
Charles Leclerc: “McLaren and Red Bull did a step forward that we didn’t do”
How the chase to catch Mercedes is unfolding
Has George Russell hit his stride too late? 'With this form I would have been in the fight'
F1 pundit slams Franco Colapinto's "outrageous" Baku crash but rejects Lando Norris's race ban call
How an “informed gamble” enabled Toyota to beat Alpine in the Fuji 6 Hours
Sebastian Vettel gives update on F1 future as he opens up on life after retirement
Why Mercedes is still quicker than McLaren
Baku late-race chaos almost costs George Russell victory over Max Verstappen
How George Russell claimed his career-best pole margin in F1 Azerbaijan GP qualifying
How the chase to catch Mercedes is unfolding
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments