“Fifth place was on the cards” – Ferrari’s Mattia Binotto

Teamwork was the key to Scuderia Ferrari’s double points finish at the Austrian Grand Prix, despite both drivers starting outside the top ten. Carlos Sainz Jr drove superbly to finish fifth with Charles Leclerc in eighth.

Ferrari opted to run their drivers on different strategies at the Red Bull Ring, Leclerc started on the mediums and then went onto the hards, with Sainz doing the opposite and running his opening stint much longer than everyone else.

Sainz’s strategy meant that he was one of the fastest cars on circuit at the end of the race, the Spaniard found himself behind Leclerc who moved out of the way for his team-mate. This allowed Sainz to make the most out of his fresher tyres and climb his way up to sixth. Sainz was elevated to fifth place at the end of the race after Sergio Pérez was awarded two five-second penalties, for twice being deemed to have forced Leclerc off the circuit.

Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto was proud of the team spirit shown between the drivers during the race, and believes fifth was the best result possible on the day.

“This result is in line with our potential at this track. Fifth place was on the cards and the most we could aspire to. Carlos secured it with a great drive, while Charles definitely deserved better.

“I think the decisions we made yesterday were shown to be the right ones, given how the race went. What I would highlight today is the spirit shown by our drivers, as Charles did not hesitate to make way for Carlos, who was on fresher and faster tyres. That meant we were able to get the best possible result for the team. It’s the right spirit and it’s the way to go as we continue to make progress.”