Carlos Sainz said that Ferrari’s improved strategies in 2024 are a direct consequence of a better and faster car compared to its predecessor.
The Scuderia scored a 3-4 finish in Suzuka, and the Italian team managed to achieve the result thanks to the great strategy with both drivers. Charles Leclerc went on a one-stop strategy, while Sainz opted for a longer second stint, which allowed him to be faster on the last, shorter stint.
“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,” Sainz told Autosport.
“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.”
Last year, the situation was completely different, as Ferrari had “zero flexibility” with its strategies since the tire degradation was too high.
“We couldn’t extend. We had so much degradation that it looked always like people could extend and then come back on us on a harder tire.
“Last year, we just [had] zero flexibility, and we couldn’t do anything without racing, so it looked like we were not getting the strategy right a lot of times.
“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.”