Ferrari boss Fred Vasser explains why he gambled against Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerk, longer than his rivals, during the Australian Grand Prix’s slow rain hit stage, so the team simply made the “false call.”
Leclerc and Hamilton were running to 6th and 8th respectively when they began to hit the track portion of Albert Park on 13 laps each.
Both major McLaurences were on track quickly – Oscar Piastri was completely spin-off – at the end of Lap 44, race leader Rand Norris headed straight into the pit lane, enough to change to mid-tyres.
Max Verstappen inherited the lead by going out, but then the rain got heavier and the world champions had to tweet around the track, so Red Bull called him two laps later to change the tires.
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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri ran wide on the grass and he rejoined his final spot!
However, Ferrari kept the driver out even longer until lap 47. By then, the safety cars had been asked to crash Gabriel Boltreto (Inter) and Liam Lawson (Slick).
By then, Hamilton and Leclair, who had spun on lap 44 himself, had run second and third in the queue behind intermediate Shod Norris. However, despite the track positions they acquired, Ferrari decided that the conditions meant they had no choice but to pit the man-in-the-middle ahead of the race’s reopening.
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Best action from the first race of the 2025 Formula One season at the Australian Grand Prix.
But why do you have gambling in the first place?
“It was a strange situation as Sector 1 and 2 were still dry and Sector 3 was completely wet. Red Bull and we bet on the fact that we had to go well and wait for the final part of the race with the slick.”
When did who pit the intermediate tire?
Lap 44 Norris, Russell, Albon, Antonelli, Stroll, Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, Piastri, Bearman Lap 46 Verstappen, Gasly, Ocon Lap 47 Hamilton, Leclerc, Tsunoda
“When it was Mercedes and McLaren, but McLaren, they went out.
“We made the wrong call because the best option was to pit the same lap as Max, so we made the wrong call at this stage.”
Could Ferrari stay in Slick?
Sky Sports F1 Martin Brandle:
“I don’t think they were getting it off the ground.
“And at reboots, those smooth tires would definitely be scary.”
Did Ferrari keep the drivers informed enough of the rain?
After rejoining the track in 9th place, Hamilton told new race engineer Riccardedami on Team Radio: “Did you think you said it wasn’t raining much?
However, Leclerc was told by his race engineer that he was being told about the imminent arrival of high-strength “Class 3” rain.
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Lewis Hamilton finished 10th in the Australian Grand Prix after his opening race as a Ferrari driver.
Asked about the apparently contradictory message between the two cars, Vasseur said: “Yes, it’s very difficult to have no rain sensors.
“I think we all surprised McLaren at this stage of the race at this point.
The Formula 1 Circus heads to Shanghai this week for the first sprint weekend of the season at the Chinese Grand Prix and will begin live performances at Sky Sports F1 on Friday. Stream Sky Sports Now – No Contract, Cancel Anytime
