Ferrari lucky after strategy blunder, Vasseur: “Others did the same”

In the first part of this spectacular Bahrain Grand Prix, the hearts of the loyal Tifosi sank: Lewis Hamilton (2nd on the grid) and Charles Leclerc (4th on the grid) were sent out onto the track on slick tyres with no tread, even though it was actually clear that the more appropriate choice would have been the grooved intermediates.

Ferrari got it wrong (as did McLaren), because the strategists assumed the track would dry out very quickly. But it didn’t.

At one point, Lewis Hamilton was down to P18, with Leclerc even further back; at times, the Briton was more than a minute behind race leader Max Verstappen!

But Ferrari were able to rely on the fighting spirit of Hamilton and Leclerc that day, had a bit of luck with the race flow and safety car periods, and then made no further mistakes during the tyre changes. So, all in all, Lewis Hamilton finished on the podium (Ferrari’s first podium in five Grand Prix weekends!) and Charles Leclerc in fourth place. A good team performance and second place in the Constructors’ Championship secured.

Back to the start: why did Ferrari send both drivers out on soft slicks? Why not intermediates? Or why not split the strategy – one driver on one set, the other on another?

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Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur defends the strategy department: “If you’re convinced that one option is better than the other, then you have to go with it for both drivers. McLaren, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes did the same. What’s more, 50 per cent of the cars on the starting grid opted for intermediates, whilst the others went for dry tyres. So we weren’t the only ones.”

“Of course, it’s easy to say after the race that one choice was better than the other. But when you’re standing in the pit lane before the race starts, all you have is information from the driver and your own impressions – nothing else. After just the first lap, you’re already wiser as to whether the choice was right or wrong. But by that point, it’s too late to change the tyres.”

The Frenchman sums up the Bahrain weekend in Malaysia as follows: “All in all, our performance was strong and convincing. There were certainly some tricky moments to navigate, such as the decisions on the starting grid, but overall it went well. Saturday’s qualifying was also positive, and today we moved up from 20th and 21st place at one stage to third and fourth. Both cars showed good pace.”

“When we think of all the times we called Charles in for a tyre change, and yet he still finished fourth, that’s a brilliant result.”