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Charles Leclerc admitted that strategy in Formula 1 races “was our weak point, but now it’s amazing” and he and Carlos Sainz praised the work of new strategy director Ravin Can – while the Spaniard explained how improving performance of the Italian car in the corresponding improvement of the strategy.
Raivid Jahn, Inaki Rueda’s successor at the start of 2023 at the head of the Scuderia’s strategy group, joined Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz on the US GP podium on Sunday (20/10).
His presence there, at the time of the Scuderia’s absolutely triumphant 1-2, was undoubtedly a symbolic choice by the team, and a signal that its strategy is no longer something to be scoffed at.
Jan, a Briton of Indian origin, had just “signed” the undercut with which Carlos Sainz had won 2nd place from Max Verstappen in the Texas race. And this was another of the many, and often inspired, choices made by the Scuderia’s strategy team this year.
Scuderia Ferrari Team Strategy Director Raven Jahn (left) with Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen on the 2024 US GP podium
PIRELLI F1 MEDIA
After the Austin race, winner Charles Leclerc praised Jahn’s contribution: “He was amazing, I have a lot of confidence in Raven. He did an amazing job and he is also so young for such a position. But he is always very, very calm, which is necessary to do such a job.
He always controls his emotions very well, which used to be one of our weak points when it came to strategy. With Ravin, a lot has changed, and I think we now have a very strong team on the track.”the Monegasque added.
Carlos Sainz, for his part, praised the contribution of Rayvid Jahn, but also raised the parameter that the improvement of the management of the tires and the performance of the Ferrari SF-24 at race pace contributed significantly to the fluency of strategic decisions.
“I think credit goes to Raven for the progress her strategy team has made Ferrari the last two years”said the Spaniard after the US GP. “There’s been a lot of work behind the scenes, and obviously Jan has played a pivotal role.
Then, as I’ve said many times, having a car that’s good at race pace helps to make the strategy work – and I have the impression that this year we have a very good car on Sundays.
The best example is this three days (in Austin) where I had a car that allowed me to make my first pit stop and extend the life of the hard rubber without the tires showing wear like the other (singles).
This is something that has caused me problems in the past, and especially last year. I remember pitting on lap 14 of the 60-lap Singapore race, and still managed to make it (on the same tyres) to the finish. With any of our previous cars, this would not have been possible.
So it wouldn’t be easy at all to make bold strategic decisions in matches, and we’d look even crazier if we tried. But this year we have a car that wears the tires less, makes us more competitive in the race, and that gives us further flexibility and better opportunities to play with the strategy.”Carlos Sainz concluded.
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