San Francisco Frontiers - Ferrari in turmoil again over pit-stop strategy

A year after local hero Leclerc's hopes of victory were upset by a late call to take slick tyres in the 2022 race, won by Red Bull's Sergio Perez, the Italian team were embroiled in another public row over their tactics.

This time it involved a frustrated Sainz who was called in to pit against his will when he was locked in a battle with Alpine's Esteban Ocon, who finished third.

The race was won by championship leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull ahead of Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, with Frenchman Ocon taking the final position.

Sainz's race engineer called him in to switch from hard tyres to medium in a bid, he said, to cover off the threat from Mercedes's seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.

In a heated exchange, partly revealed on team radio, it was clear that Sainz objected to the decision because he wanted to stay out and fight Ocon for third.

A heated Sainz continued to complain to his engineer after making his stop telling him the team were making a mistake again.

On team radio, he was heard saying: "This is exactly what I talked about."

His engineer responded: "The target was to cover Hamilton."

"But I don't care about Hamilton," said Sainz. "I was quick"

Sainz had survived an early minor collision with Ocon at the Nouvelle Chicane, damaging his car's front wing.

He was requested to pit, but stayed out until later relenting and heeding the team's instructions as a rainstorm hit the circuit.

The rumpus followed Leclerc's problems on Saturday when he was adjudged to have impeded McLaren's Lando Norris in the tunnel during qualifying, a decision that cost him a grid penalty that dropped him to sixth.

Both drivers finished up beaten by the two Mercedes men Hamilton and George Russell, who were fourth and fifth, on a circuit on which Ferrari were expected to shine this weekend.

D.Brown--SFF