(Motorsport-Total.com) – Ferrari’s strategy caused discussions at the Dutch Grand Prix. Not only Lewis Hamilton was dissatisfied with his Ferrari crew’s tactics, but also teammate Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque was convinced that he had been denied a possible podium finish.
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“I didn’t really understand why we had to pit so soon after George Russell’s pit stop,” the Monegasque pondered after the race to Sky Sports. “Because with that, it was actually clear that we would finish behind George.”
“With a difference of two or three laps, I don’t think I could have done much, and I felt there was still a bit more left in my tires.” Leclerc was less than a second behind Russell when the Mercedes driver pitted at the end of lap 40.
What strategy mistake Ferrari made in Zandvoort
The Ferrari driver could potentially have extended his first stint to create a sufficient difference in tire life compared to his competitor. Lando Norris proved that this tactic can work, securing the victory this way.
The McLaren driver had been stuck behind Kimi Antonelli for almost the entire race. He completed his last pit stop seven laps later than the Italian – and then quickly caught up with the Mercedes. Norris eventually overtook him thanks to a tire advantage and celebrated his second win of the season.
Ferrari, on the other hand, pitted Leclerc only three laps after Russell. Speaking to the media after the race, the Monegasque made it clear that he practically considered the fight against the Mercedes given up with this approach.
“I was very surprised to pit so early when we had done exactly what we wanted,” he said. “George pitted, and that was the time for us to stay out five or ten laps longer, build up a tire advantage, and then catch up to George again at the end.”
Was Leclerc brought in earlier because of Hamilton?
“Unfortunately, two laps later I was told to pit, which I think I did three laps after that.” A possible factor for Leclerc being brought in earlier than desired could have been Lewis Hamilton.
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The Briton pursued a different strategy, caught up with his teammate at that moment, and therefore asked Ferrari to swap the positions of the two cars. Whether Leclerc was actually ordered to pit to avoid holding up Hamilton remains unclear. However, it is certain that Leclerc himself would have preferred to stay out.
“I need to look again at what the situation was like,” the Monegasque said when asked if he would have been willing to swap positions with Hamilton and extend his stint. “But I was happy to stay out longer.”
Ferrari’s first call for a pit stop came on lap 42, with Leclerc initially reacting with a clear question to his race engineer: “What do you mean? That destroys my race if I pit two laps after Russell.”
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The Ferrari driver received no clear answer to this. He drove past the pit entry, seemingly protesting the decision – only to be called in for a stop again on the following lap: “Box, Charles, box. Hard tires.”
Lewis Hamilton benefits from the virtual Safety Car
After his stop, Leclerc emerged from the pit lane about six seconds behind Russell. Twelve laps later, he had reduced the gap to less than two seconds. However, the speed difference was too small to seriously expect an overtaking maneuver on track.
Leclerc could have at least fought for fourth place, as Ferrari left Hamilton on track and tried to keep him out until the end of the race. Given the existing speed difference, however, the Briton would probably have fallen behind Russell and Leclerc anyway.
The virtual Safety Car on lap 55 finally gave Ferrari the opportunity to pit Hamilton. Leclerc also stopped again and was thus definitively set for fifth place. Although he caught up with his teammate at the end of the race, who in turn was chasing Russell, both Ferrari drivers crossed the finish line behind the Mercedes.
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Why Ferrari missed the undercut opportunity
The Dutch Grand Prix became a race for Ferrari in which the strong pace could not be converted into a correspondingly good result for several reasons. Leclerc’s race could have taken a significantly different turn if he had not lost his position to Oscar Piastri at the restart.
Because he was stuck behind the Australian during his first stint, Leclerc could not use the potential of his Ferrari to put pressure on the leaders. Ferrari delayed his first pit stop and then opted for the medium compound – unlike Piastri, who was on hard tires – to allow Leclerc to attack the McLaren.
However, a slow pit stop cost additional time, so Leclerc left the pit lane six seconds behind the Australian. Only six laps later, he had caught up with Piastri again and was finally able to overtake him on lap 34.
Russell was only three seconds ahead of him at that point. Leclerc caught up just in time to give Ferrari a chance for an undercut against the Mercedes. As Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur explained after the race, this had initially been the plan – but the Scuderia’s strategists hesitated.
“I think it’s very much about execution,” Vasseur admitted to Sky. “The pace was good and, in my opinion, even strong compared to Mercedes. The problem was that we lost position to Piastri at the second start.”
“We were stuck behind him and lost a lot of time. When we finally got ahead of him, we were at some point quite close to achieving the undercut against Russell. But there was a group of cars, there was some confusion – and we didn’t do it.”
Why the undercut wouldn’t necessarily have worked either
“It’s our mistake, my mistake. But overall, it’s more about execution.” At the end of lap 40, Ferrari instructed Leclerc to act “opposite to Russell.” But by the time the Mercedes driver pitted, the opportunity for the undercut had already passed.
Although Vasseur admitted that it had been a mistake not to bring Leclerc in one lap earlier, even this step would probably not have led to the desired result. The Ferrari driver would have returned to the track directly behind a group of lapped cars, including Carlos Sainz, Franco Colapinto, and Arvid Lindblad. They could have slowed him down on his outlap and ruined the undercut opportunity.
Leclerc’s only real chance for third place then was to delay his second pit stop as much as possible and build up a sufficient tire advantage over Russell. Ferrari ultimately decided against it and missed the podium with both cars.
Ferrari loses the Zandvoort race already in qualifying
As Leclerc himself noted after the race, Ferrari probably did not fully exploit the possibilities of its strategy. However, the Scuderia’s bigger problem in Zandvoort was that it could not convert its strong race pace on Sunday into a correspondingly good result – mainly due to the poor starting position after Ferrari struggled to keep up with competitors in qualifying.
With Hamilton and Leclerc in the third row of the grid on a track where overtaking is particularly difficult, Ferrari had little choice but to beat their opponents through strategy. “I mean, honestly, it was a frustrating race,” Leclerc said.
“Because things went in the wrong direction due to things we couldn’t really control. The timing of the virtual Safety Car wasn’t particularly good for us. But at the end of the day, I think the pace was strong.”
“We had a good overtaking maneuver against Oscar, and I think the tire management was also good,” the Ferrari driver sees some positive aspects. “What we need to understand is our pace in qualifying. That’s exactly where we’re really lacking at the moment.”
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