Charles Leclerc, Ferrari driver, has urged his team to reflect on race strategy after an unfortunate decision during the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The Monegasque driver, along with his teammate Lewis Hamilton, opted to start the race on soft tires, while Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar chose intermediate tires.
This choice turned out to be a serious error, as both Leclerc and Hamilton fell from fourth and second positions to the last places on the grid, with Leclerc forced to make an early pit stop at the end of the wet first lap.
Historically, Ferrari’s race strategy has been subject to criticism, with moments of correct calls, but also numerous mistakes. In contrast, the Red Bull team, under the direction of head of strategy Hannah Schmitz, has demonstrated great operational efficiency. Verstappen, thanks to his tactics, achieved his 72nd win in a Grand Prix after starting from pole.
“It was a tight decision, but we need to review it,” Leclerc commented. “If we split the strategies, there’s always a wrong option and a right one, and it becomes complicated for both decisions to work out well. Red Bull is the team that generally gets it right more often with their choices”.
Ferrari was one of the six teams that decided to start on slick tires and opted not to split strategies between their two drivers, unlike Alpine, which separated Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto with soft tires. Conditions on the track were challenging, with recent rain and asphalt drying up. After 13 laps, most drivers had switched to intermediate tires.
“The conditions were difficult for everyone. Although we had more data, they were situations that didn’t resemble the day”, Leclerc added. “The most complicated part was assessing how much water remained in the track’s holes, and there was more than many thought, which made our decision the wrong one”.
Despite the initial complications, Hamilton and Leclerc were able to recover positions, finishing third and fourth, in part thanks to George Russell’s retirement due to a mechanical failure five laps from the end. “The result is representative of what we could have achieved, but we were outmatched by Kimi Antonelli and Verstappen, who were too strong today”, concluded Leclerc, reflecting on a race that was full of complications.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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