Since winning the Monaco GP, nothing has gone right for Charles Leclerc. With a best result of P5 in the last three races, Leclerc came into the British GP with hopes of rain helping his cause. However, it worsened the situation for him, as the Monegasque faced a Q2 elimination and a badly-timed pit stop for intermediate tires unraveled his race horribly. However, Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has explained how Leclerc’s tire strategy call was “on the edge” of being right.
According to Motorsport Week, Vasseur said,
“First it’s clear that it was not the right call or the right decision. But I would say that it’s also motivated by the fact that at this stage we are already 15 seconds behind Carlos, or 10 seconds behind Carlos.”
Charles ️”The rain was increasing from lap 15 and we thought it would get stronger so we pitted for Inters. It may have been an aggressive choice, but it seemed that it could be worth it at the time.”
Wrapping up a difficult #BritishGP
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) July 7, 2024
Vasseur explained that Leclerc falling behind in the race pushed the Ferrari pit wall to be “aggressive” with their decision-making. Thus, they opted to pit Leclerc for intermediate tires with hopes that the rain would intensify to give them a chance to climb back into the top 10.
However, it did not pan out as the Italian team hoped for. The rain stayed away to keep the track dry and Leclerc paid the price for it. He fell back and lost a lot of lap time with his intermediate tires degrading as well.
When the rain came back towards the midpoint of the Grand Prix, the leaders had already lapped Leclerc who was driving on worn-out intermediates. Regardless, Ferrari tried their best to pit him again for a new set. But by then, it was too late.
Vasseur also mentioned that the driver’s judgment in a situation where the track is drying up or getting wetter is quite crucial. The pit wall can guide Leclerc about his time, or the whereabouts of other cars. However, the coordination between his observation and the strategy team is something they need to work on.
Has Leclerc improved on his race strategy judgment?
The British GP was quite a chaotic affair in terms of the rainy conditions catching many drivers and teams off guard. Even Ferrari could have pulled off a genius move, had the rain intensified to give Leclerc an advantage.
However, several other teams could have covered these what-if scenarios with their own strategic masterclass. The pertinent thing to note is Ferrari has been improving on its strategy calls since the summer break of last season. This year too, Leclerc has had some great races with valuable input from his team.
Charles Leclerc was the only driver to make the one-stop work at Suzuka, whilst showing almost ZERO tyre degradation.
Tyre management is one area in which Ferrari has made huge strides in 2024, without this, the one-stop would never have been possible. pic.twitter.com/AOPMTOXmB7
— Racing.News (@RacingNews__) April 9, 2024
The Japanese GP becomes a perfect case in point. Leclerc pulled off a one-stop strategy in Suzuka this year where most of the front runners opted for a two-stopper. The Monegasque extended his first stint on the medium tires and later consolidated a P4 finish on the hard tires, having started in P8.
So, Ferrari and Leclerc are addressing and improving their tire strategy execution, which has been a stumbling block in the past. Still, the test of these improvements will come once again when they encounter wet track conditions similar to Silverstone.
