Team boss Mattia Binotto says it is "easy to criticise" Ferrari despite what he called a "mess" at the Dutch Grand Prix.
While Charles Leclerc finished third, the Scuderia endured another difficult race at Zandvoort, lacking the pace to challenge Red Bull and being out-strategised by Mercedes.
Most of the focus though was on a disastrous first pit-stop for Carlos Sainz that even compromised Sergio Perez, who ran over a Ferrari wheel gun as they scrambled to change the Spaniard's tyres.
LAP 15/72
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 4, 2022
Sainz pits but it's a slow stop 😫
Looks like the fresh left rear tyre wasn't ready to go on the car.
Meanwhile behind, Perez is unable to avoid a wheel gun lying on the ground.#DutchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/axMZUUuFjX
“A mess. What happened, a mess,” Binotto conceded mid-race to Sky Sports. “A very, very late call, the mechanics were not ready. We will revisit that at the end of the race.
“We made the call at the last corner, at the banking. Not enough time, but we will review at the end.”
The constant mistakes by Ferrari led to strong criticism from the typically straight-talking Nico Rosberg.
“Oh my goodness,” the 2016 F1 champion commented. “Mattia Binotto keeps saying ‘no, no, we don’t need to make any changes, everything is going well’. I mean, when is the day coming? It’s not possible [to carry on as it is].
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“Even Formula 2 teams or Formula 3 teams do a better job at their strategy and pit-stops than Ferrari. So you’re in the pit and there’s no tyre in a normal race. At some point, they really need to start making some changes.”
However, Binotto quickly rejected the German's suggestion.
“First, I think it is so easy to speak when you are outside [of the paddock]. It is easy to criticise,” he said.
“But we will not change people – that is my answer to Rosberg. We have great people and it has been proven what is more important in sport is stability and that we make sure we are improving day-by-day and race-by-race.
“We have great people in the team and I have no doubt on that. It takes years and experience for all teams to be at the front and I think there is no reason why it should be different for ourselves.”
The Ferrari chief also insisted there were bigger priorities for the team, noting the unique situation at Zandvoort.
“Yes, it was a very late call to react to Lewis [Hamilton] with Carlos. It was too late a call,” he acknowledged.
“But I know, as he (Rosberg) should know as well because he is an experienced driver, it is a lot easier to address those type of problems rather than the performance.
“The performance is what counts the most today in my view.”
