In the last couple of years, race strategy was a sector that let Ferrari down on more than one occasion. Even when the team from Italy improved their on-track performances and took a step forward, their blunders in strategies cost them on several occasions. However, come 2024, things seem to have changed significantly for the better, thanks to Frederic Vasseur. The Frenchman has received praise from Bernie Collins, a former chief strategist, for addressing Ferrari’s embarrassing concern of poor communication before Lewis Hamilton arrives at the team in 2025.
Collins told Sky Sports F1 as per F1 Maximaal, “He [Vasseur] has come on board and things seem to have calmed down. We no longer hear the safety car comes out, pits, no pits, and other such discussions that we heard in the past. It seems like they make a decision, stick to it, and everyone agrees. There seems to be a lot more cooperation than in the past.”
Collins then also emphasized how Frederic Vasseur has begun to show more faith in his pit wall. “They clearly allow confidence over the pit wall to those with the knowledge to make the decisions. In the past, this has led to a discussion, after which they missed their chances,” said the former Aston Martin employee.
The first major signs of Ferrari making a good strategic call this season were evident during the Japanese GP. On that occasion, Ferrari cleverly decided to put Charles Leclerc on a one-stop. As a result, the Monegasque ended up finishing the race in P4 despite starting in P8.
How did Ferrari experience a fall from grace in 2022?
Ferrari had a mighty start to their 2022 season. With a 1-2 finish in the season opener in Bahrain, things seemed promising for them for the rest of the campaign. Ferrari then also managed to claim two wins after the first three races thanks to Charles Leclerc.
Leclerc’s two victories helped him have a 46-point lead over Max Verstappen in the championship at one point in time. While Leclerc and the Prancing Horse seemed in a fantastic position after the first three races, they failed to carry on the momentum.
Reliability issues coupled with poor strategic calls and driver errors resulted in them failing to take the fight to Verstappen and Red Bull. Ferrari arguably made their biggest strategic error at the 2022 Monaco GP.
Leclerc was initially asked to pit from the lead of the race, only for the pit wall to ask him to stay out at the last moment. However, by then it was too late. Leclerc had already made his way into the pits.
Since Ferrari were not ready for the pit stop, they took a long time, and this cost Leclerc the lead. By the time, the Monegasque exited the pitlane, he was already P4. Since he had a golden opportunity to win his home race, he expressed his frustrations after the race to the media.
