Ferrari F1 representative 'Rejection of Leclerc's request is linked to Yuki Tsunoda' / F1 San Paolo GP[F1-Gate.com]

Ferrari F1 team representative Mattia Binotto has rejected Charles Leclerc’s team order to replace the order on the final lap of the Brazilian F1 GP due to Yuki Tsunoda’s safety car issue.

At the time, Charles Leclerc was chasing teammate Carlos Sainz Jr., who was running third, and swapped places to help Sergio Pérez battle for second place in the drivers’ standings, earning another three points.

However, the Ferrari F1 team rejected the request as “too risky”. Carlos Sainz didn’t even know what Charles Leclerc wanted.

“We don’t usually ask for this, but we talked about it before the race, so we asked. For some reason, we changed our minds. I don’t know why yet,” Leclerc said.

“I hope I’m fast enough to be second in Abu Dhabi. I just hope I don’t lose second place by three points.”

Ferrari F1 team principal Mattia Binotto explained why the teams did not switch positions. The team said it was investigating a potential crash involving Carlos Sainz and did not want to risk losing time if he received a penalty.

Mattia Binotto said the investigation concerned Yuki Tsunoda, one of three lapped drivers who were not allowed to return to the lead lap during the final safety car period. The FIA later confirmed an oversight which meant Yuki Tsunoda had not been instructed to discard.

Mattia Binotto said the fact that rivals Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen were right behind their cars also made Ferrari hesitant to issue team orders.

“Charles was definitely difficult to switch the two cars on the final straight, as Fernando and Max were right behind him,” explained Mattia Binotto.

“It certainly was complicated and could have been a bit risky.”

“But more than that, we knew there was an investigation into what happened to Yuki Tsunoda behind the safety car. We had been cleared by race direction at the time, so we were quite comfortable. But it would have been dangerous if we didn’t there had been a conclusion to the matter.’

“A five-second penalty, for example, causes Carlos to lose several positions. So it was definitely better to keep track position and the gap in the Constructors’ Championship.”