Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur acknowledged the team’s strategy error at the Australian Grand Prix, admitting they made “the wrong call” by keeping Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on slick tires longer than their rivals during the late-race downpour.
Hamilton and Leclerc, running sixth and eighth respectively, remained on slicks as rain intensified with 13 laps to go. Meanwhile, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri spun off, prompting race leader Lando Norris to pit for intermediates. Max Verstappen briefly inherited the lead before Red Bull called him in two laps later as conditions worsened.
Ferrari, however, delayed their switch even further until lap 47, despite a Safety Car deployment following crashes involving Gabriel Bortoleto and Liam Lawson. This strategy initially saw Hamilton and Leclerc advance to second and third behind Norris, but the team ultimately had no choice but to pit, dropping them to ninth and 10th.
Vasseur explained that Ferrari, like Red Bull, gambled on staying out due to dry conditions in the first two sectors of the track. However, he admitted they should have pitted on the same lap as Verstappen. Sky Sports analysts debated the decision, with Martin Brundle stating Ferrari would have struggled to stay on track, while Ted Kravitz suggested they might have survived under the Safety Car.
Hamilton voiced frustration over team radio, questioning why he was told the rain wouldn’t be heavy. Leclerc, however, was warned by his engineer about an approaching “class three” downpour. Vasseur defended the team, explaining that predicting rain intensity remains challenging, as teams rely on radar and visual cues rather than sensors.
Ferrari’s costly miscalculation saw Hamilton finish 10th in his debut race for the team, while Leclerc ended ninth, leaving the Scuderia with lingering questions over their race strategy.
Source: Swifteradio.com
