Ferrari cannot waste time and effort debating whether it is time to prioritise Charles Leclerc over Carlos Sainz amid their ongoing reliability issues, according to one of their former drivers.
Both their drivers are vital to their constructors' title ambitions, but only one of them can be come the drivers' champion. Leclerc is currently in the best position in that regard, with the Monegasque 38 points behind leader Max Verstappen and 37 points clear of his Spanish team-mate.
That healthy lead over Sainz has led to some people suggesting the time might be right for Ferrari to make it clear that Leclerc is their number one driver for the rest of the year. But Felipe Massa thinks their engine issues are far more pressing.
The reason why the Italian team has fallen behind Red Bull is their lack of reliability. In the first few races it was Verstappen and Sergio Perez who were struggling, but their team has got a handle on those problems while Ferrari are the ones suffering engine woes.
Leclerc has lost dozens of points already due to engine failures while in promising positions. And Sainz was the latest to have a race ruined, when his car caught fire while on the way to what would most likely have been a podium finish at the Austrian Grand Prix.
With those gremlins still to be dealt with, Massa believes developing a more sturdy power unit should be the team's highest priority. "When I came to the team in 2006, it was very clear who was first and who was second," said the Brazilian.
"Then Kimi Raikkonen came to us. We agreed with each other that we would fight each other until the race in Spa and after that, whoever was behind in the championship would help his team-mate. I don't know how the situation is at Ferrari at the moment in terms of distribution of roles, but I think their main priority should be reliability.
"They have to solve these problems first and only then decide which of the drivers will be the first driver." He believes it would be pointless deciding that Leclerc should be number one right now anyway, as there could still be a huge points swing in the next two Grands Prix before the summer break.
"It is possible that Leclerc will be out of the race in the next race and Sainz will win," Massa added. "It's too early to decide on roles because even they themselves don't know which drivers will finish the next race."
