Carlos Sainz claims Ferrari strategy improvement ‘purely down to the car’

Carlos Sainz claimed that Ferrari has improved its strategic calls due to the SF24.

Carlos Sainz claims Ferrari strategy improvement ‘purely down to the car’

Carlos Sainz (Via: Imago)

Scuderia Ferrari have drastically improved compared to 2023. Maranello seems to be right behind Max Verstappen and Red Bull this season with Carlos Sainz even emerging victorious at the Australian GP. The Italian team used to be infamous for poor strategy calls during races. However, things seem to be different this year. Now, Sainz has revealed the main reason for better race strategy from the Ferrari pit wall.

The Spanish driver highlighted that the Scuderia has made progress in all departments in the past three seasons. However, there was a big jump in race strategy this season. Carlos Sainz credited this massive improvement purely down to the SF24. 

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.
Carlos Sainz told Autosport
YouTube video

The 29-year-old claimed that the 2024 Ferrari challenger allowed the Italian team to use flexible strategic options which was not possible last year. Carlos Sainz admitted that Ferrari was forced to make pitstops at certain laps in 2023 due to the lack of such options with the SF-23. This led to many believing that Maranello was making some poor race calls.

FS Video
I think just having a car that allows you to have flexibility on strategy is something that last year we couldn't have, so we were boxed in to stop at certain laps... it looked like we were not getting the strategy right a lot of times.
Carlos Sainz stated

Carlos Sainz highlights SF-24’s better tire degradation allows for more ‘flexibility’

Maranello suffered from high tire degradation last season with the SF-23. Carlos Sainz pointed out that this prohibited Ferrari from extending its stints compared to rivals who gained an advantage against the Italian team. Poor strategy had cost Sainz and the Scuderia some crucial points in the past two seasons.

 We had so much degradation that it looked always like people could extend and then come back on us on a harder tire.
Carlos Sainz continued
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc (Via IMAGO)

Subsequently, Carlos Sainz claimed that a car which was easier on the tires allowed him and Charles Leclerc to push more during the race. This trait of the SF-24 gave Ferrari the much-needed flexibility in race strategy which could allow the Italian team to challenge Max Verstappen and Red Bull this season.

But 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.
Carlos Sainz asserted

Certainly, Ferrari seem to benefit hugely with the SF-24. The 2024 challenger not only has the pace to compete against the Red Bull RB20 but even allows Ferrari to address a massive shortcoming. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc would be looking to bank on the team’s strategic options in the coming races. Although, it remains to be seen if Maranello can capitalize on this trait.

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