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Rosberg on Ferrari's strategy: 'It's a very odd one'

Rosberg on Ferrari's strategy: 'It's a very odd one'

05-03-2023 10:52 Last update: 13:42
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GPblog.com

Nico Rosberg is surprised by the strategic choices made by Ferrari during qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Speaking to Sky Sports, Rosberg says he hopes not to see a repeat of last year.

This year, besides a new team boss, Ferrari also has a new chief strategist: Ravin Jain takes over from Iñaki Rueda. It is not very surprising that Fred Vasseur is looking for a new chief strategist: in 2022, Rueda was at the helm of the questionable strategic choices that ultimately cost Ferrari the title.

First notable choice already made

Jain immediately asserted himself during qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix by making a bold decision. With more than two minutes left on the clock in Q3, it was decided not to let Leclerc go out, despite the fact that his direct rivals Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were still going to try again. As a result, Leclerc ended up losing his second place and will start from third during the race. The explanation for this choice was that this way Ferrari would save the tyres for the race in order to be better able to attack.

Rosberg thinks it is a bold choice. " It's a very odd one," the former world champion analysed. "I hope it’s not kind of the continuation of Ferrari strategy difficulties because they do have a new strategist this year. So I hope that actually now it turns out to be a really smart call for the race. We have to wait and see."