Ferrari strategy branded "comical" after Carlos Sainz call and Charles Leclerc crash

dailystar.co.uk:

Ferrari fans have had enough of the team's bizarre strategy decisions after a hugely disappointing French Grand Prix. The Prancing Horse had looked set for a considerable haul of points going into the afternoon after Charles Leclerc qualified on pole at Paul Ricard.

But the Monegasque driver suffered a huge blow to his title ambitions when he crashed out of the race on lap 18.Although Leclerc admitted that it was his mistake that led to the crash - not that of his team - it summed up Ferrari's problems where reliability is concerned this season.

And while the Scuderia were not to blame for Leclerc's miserable afternoon, they had questions to answer regarding Carlos Sainz. READ MORE: Daniel Ricciardo seals shock McLaren victory leaving Carl Froch bamboozledSainz started the race from 19th but worked his way up to 3rd and within five seconds of Lewis Hamilton in second with the aid of a safety car following his team-mate's crash.

But all that good work was undone when Ferrari chose to bring him in to change his tyres and serve a five-second time penalty with six laps remaining - a decision they informed Sainz about while he was attempting to overtake Sergio Perez.The Spaniard remerged in 9th after a needless 42-second pit stop, prompting Sky Sports F1 commentator Paul Di Resta to ask: "Have they not just thrown away a third place?""I am scratching my head on that one," replied Sky Sports F1 colleague David Croft.Sainz recovered to finish 5th, but to those watching, it seemed as though Ferrari threw away the chance for Sainz to finish third - and potentially second - with a bizarre strategy call.One person wrote: "Ferrari strategy leaked: No matter what, do everything in your power to make sure we don’t win a wdc.