Video: Did Ferrari hang Charles Leclerc out to dry with Baku strategy?
There's no doubt that Charles Leclerc did himself no favours in crashing his Ferrari in Formula 1 qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
But could he have achieved more in the race? He quickly rose from his eighth-place starting spot and led 19 laps on his alternative strategy, only to end up a distant fifth.
In this latest video, Chain Bear analyses Ferrari's options and whether it really maximised Leclerc's result, and whether it was correct to use the medium tyre in Q2.
F1 managing director of motorsports Ross Brawn defended Ferrari's move, saying if it paid off it could have led to a win
"The decision to try to qualify in Q2 on the medium tyre was the right one in my opinion, because on the softs Mercedes had shown they had a better race pace on Friday afternoon," wrote Brawn in his F1 newsletter.
"If Charles had managed to get ahead of them in Q3 - and there was a chance of that - and then run a long first stint, as he went on to do, then he would have been in with a good chance of finishing at the front.
"Unfortunately for him, despite a strong climb up the order, he finished fifth, for the third time this year.
"And I doubt that taking an extra point for setting the fastest race lap would have cheered him up.
"However, even after this race, he bears all the hallmarks of a driver on the way up, destined for great things."
Ferrari's failure to win, allied to Mercedes delivering its fourth consecutive one-two finish, has left the Italian team aware it needs to turn things around swiftly if it is to remain in championship contention.
But despite the situation looking difficult, Brawn reckons that all is not yet lost for Ferrari.
"As the first tranche of races that make up this long championship comes to an end in Baku, one could ask oneself if we can still expect to see at least two teams fighting it out for the titles," said Brawn.
"At the moment, a negative response would seem logical, given that Mercedes has taken four consecutive one-two finishes, but I feel there is still time for Ferrari to fight back, as it showed in two of the four races that it has what's needed to win."
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