Dakar Rally News: Ferrari’s Strategy Call Stumbles Leclerc’s Charge at Silverstone
In the recent British Grand Prix, Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur revealed that Charles Leclerc’s track position played a crucial role in the team’s ill-timed switch to Intermediates, which ultimately unraveled the Monegasque driver’s race.
Leclerc, seeking to rebound from a disappointing qualifying performance, made up three places at the start to run two spots behind teammate Carlos Sainz. However, his race took a turn for the worse as he got caught in a train behind the slow-moving Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, unable to make a pass until Lap 13.
“At this stage, we are already 15 seconds behind Carlos, or 10 seconds behind Carlos. It means that consciously or unconsciously, you know that the only way to come back and to fight for the podium is to be a bit aggressive into the decision,” the Ferrari boss said.
With Leclerc having lost ground on the leading pack, Ferrari attempted a strategic gamble, pitting him to Intermediates on Lap 19 in anticipation of heavier rainfall. But the track conditions had not deteriorated enough, and Leclerc ended up losing significant time, unable to recover in the remaining laps.
Vasseur explained that the decision was “on the edge” of being the correct one, and Leclerc’s track position had contributed to the team’s downfall. While the team acknowledged that the call was not the right one, Vasseur absolved the pit wall from blame, stating that in mixed conditions, the onus shifts more to the driver to take control of the strategic decisions.
Meanwhile, Leclerc’s teammate, Carlos Sainz, capitalized on McLaren’s timing to discard the slicks, seizing fourth place from Oscar Piastri. However, Piastri was able to execute an undercut during the crossover back to slicks to regain the position, with Ferrari’s deficit leaving them unable to mount a comeback.
The British Grand Prix proved to be a challenging race for Ferrari, with Leclerc’s track position and the team’s strategic gamble ultimately costing them a better result.
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