F1, Charles Leclerc: Ferrari strategist does not regret and pulls straight

Inaki Rueda after the Belgian GP and the unfortunate strategy with Leclerc: “If we don’t try to take these opportunities, we are not racers.”

Ferrari’s strategy manager Inaki Rueda, who was also under indictment after last Sunday’s race for the decision to pit Leclerc in the finale of the Belgian GP to try to hit the fastest lap, defended himself in his usual post-race analysis: “At the end of the race we saw that the window had opened to try to beat Max Verstappen’s fast lap, so we called him back to the pits on the penultimate lap to mount soft tires.”

“This move did not go according to our plan, we missed the fastest lap by six tenths and took a penalty for speeding in the pit lane, but if we don’t try to take these opportunities, though, we are not racers.”

Rueda highlighted the improvements at the pit stop: “We made five pit stops and all of them were very fast. The fastest among them went within a tenth of our season record.”