Ferrari’s decision to start both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on slick tyres at Sepang was influenced by onboard footage from the safety car, according to radio exchanges between the drivers and the pit wall. The images made the circuit appear significantly drier than it actually was, contributing to a tyre choice that immediately put both Ferrari drivers on the back foot in Malaysia.
Ferrari’s slick tyre choice at Sepang
Much has been said about Ferrari’s decision to start both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on dry-weather tyres at Sepang. It quickly proved to be the wrong choice, leaving both Maranello drivers facing a difficult race from the outset.
The tyre decision had been one of the major strategic questions surrounding a weekend in which Pirelli’s Sepang compounds and Ferrari’s SF-26 were already under close scrutiny.
Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur defended the decision by pointing out that “50% of the cars had chosen slicks” and that the teams would “only find out on the first lap whether the choice was right or wrong”. He added that “at that point, it was too late to pit”.
Ferrari made the decision after watching the safety car onboard
Frédéric Vasseur had also stressed that the pit wall only had “the information coming from the track to the pits” when Ferrari made its decision.
Analysis of the team radio exchanges between the drivers and their engineers subsequently revealed another important detail: Ferrari opted for slick tyres after watching onboard footage from the safety car. The conversation took place while the cars were waiting in the pit lane before the reconnaissance lap ahead of the grid start.
Lewis Hamilton told the team: “The Mercedes are on intermediates.”
Ferrari replied: “Lewis, we’ve seen the track is dry from the safety car onboard footage. You’ll see it yourself when you go out on track.”
Lewis Hamilton then asked: “Does Charles have the same tyres?” Ferrari confirmed: “We confirm it, Lewis.”
The safety car footage therefore provided an indication that ultimately proved misleading. Max Verstappen also suggested as much during his post-podium conversation with Lewis Hamilton, explaining: “The track didn’t look wet, but there was still a lot of water on the asphalt.”
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc immediately recognised the problem
Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc realised almost immediately that Ferrari’s initial call had been problematic. During the reconnaissance lap, both drivers reported how difficult it was to manage slick tyres on the wet surface.
Despite those warnings, Ferrari stuck with its original plan and sent both cars to the starting grid on dry-weather tyres. The decision became another significant example of how rapidly tyre strategy can change in mixed conditions, an area that can also be explored through the Ferrari Pit Stop & Strategy Statistics.
Lewis Hamilton warned the pit wall: “This track won’t dry for at least 10 laps.”
Charles Leclerc also questioned the decision, saying: “At the moment it’s very wet. I’m driving almost at my normal pace. Do you think we should come in for intermediates?”
Ferrari nevertheless maintained the slick tyre choice for the start. The radio exchanges reveal that the decision was not made blindly: the team had studied the available images from the circuit, but the safety car onboard footage did not accurately convey how much water remained on the surface.
The episode adds another layer to the unusual conditions surrounding the Malaysian weekend, with further event information available in the 2026 Bahrain GP at Sepang guide.
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