Ferrari team principal, Mattia Binotto, conceded that a “very, very, late call” was the reason for Carlos Sainz’s lengthy pit stop at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The Spaniard had missed out on pole by less than a tenth of a second to Max Verstappen, with Charles Leclerc sandwiched in between them.
The Spaniard held onto third in the opening exchanges, but his race unravelled on lap 15 when he was called into the pits.
The Scuderia had three mechanics ready to put fresh tyres on his car, but the one that was due to put the left rear corner on had not yet left the garage.
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While they were waiting for the tyre, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez left his pit box and ran over a loose wheel gun that had been left by the Ferrari crew.
The left rear was not in the pit lane, so the gun operator placed it down in front of where the Mexican was exiting the pits, but thankfully no damage was done.
Ferrari are now under investigation for the mistake that could have easily done some harm.
Sky Sports commentator David Croft got in touch with Binotto during the race, and the Italian conceded that the call was made very late, so not everyone was ready.
“A mess,” said the Italian when asked what happened.
“A very, very late call and the mechanics were not ready.”
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Sainz was then later penalised for an unsafe release by the team, who let him go right into the path of Fernando Alonso.
The five-second penalty sent him from fifth to eighth as he once again lost fifth in the Drivers’ Standings to George Russell, who finished second to race winner Max Verstappen.
Leclerc, after a bizarre series of events involving a Virtual Safety Car due to an issue for AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, finished third.