Much has been said about the decision not to fit soft tyres at the end of the F1 Imola GP: the team radio reveals what happened on the Ferrari pit wall. Safety Car, soft tyres, and missed pit stops in the Imola GP: the team radio reveals what happened on the Ferrari pit wall. The retirement of Andrea Kimi Antonelli brought the safety car back onto the track in the final stages of the race. A particularly long neutralization, which would leave the drivers free with only ten laps remaining. A short enough distance to, in theory, allow the use of soft compounds.
The outcome of the Imola Grand Prix, after a Saturday to forget, can still bring satisfaction to the Maranello team. The comeback, considered impossible by some given the few overtaking opportunities, did happen. And there was also that impressive race pace, already seen on Friday, which shows that the SF-25, in race trim and with decreasing fuel load, finds that ideal operating window.
As usual, the regrets focus on qualifying. Yet, as repeatedly emphasized during Carlo Vanzini’s commentary, the final Safety Car could have been a golden opportunity: Charles Leclerc, chasing Lewis Hamilton and Alexander Albon, could have come into the pits and fitted soft tyres—the last ones available to the Monegasque. A series of events, however, led him to desist.
Leclerc’s request: “I want to come into the pits”
What happened is quickly summarized: Charles Leclerc, once he convinced his race engineer Bryan Bozzi, was ready to come into the pits. But at the moment he was about to turn into the pit lane, he changed his mind, having seen Lewis Hamilton doing the same. At that point, it was better to gain track position than to lose further time in a complex double pit stop.
There is a reason, however, why the Monegasque didn’t expect his teammate to pit, and it’s evident from the analysis of the team radio by PlanetF1. At the time of the Safety Car, car #16 informed the pit wall of his intention to come in.
CL: I’m coming into the pits.
BB: We have to stay out. We don’t have a tyre that can last until the end.
CL: The softs will be better than what I have now.
BB: There are 17 laps to go, Charles.
CL: How many laps have I done on the mediums?
BB: The mediums have 11 laps. The hards…
CL: Tell me which are best, these are f***ed.
Hamilton and Adami plan their stop
Meanwhile, a similar conversation was taking place between Lewis Hamilton and his race engineer Riccardo Adami.
LH: Tyres are good, but we still have many laps to go.
RA: It’s 17 laps. Come into the pits.
LH: How many positions would I lose?
RA: Three positions.
LH: Are you sure? How new are the tyres? I’ll have to overtake a lot of people.
RA: Come into the pits.
Bozzi: “Lewis doesn’t want to pit”
In an attempt to persuade his driver, Bryan Bozzi tells Charles Leclerc that his teammate intends to stay out.
CL: Do we have a new soft set?
BB: Hamilton doesn’t want to pit, just to inform you.
CL: I don’t care! I don’t care. We’re talking about us.
BB: So what do you want, new softs? We have new softs. Do you want new softs? Tell me now.
CL: These tyres won’t restart, so yes.
BB: Box, Charles.
But, seeing Lewis Hamilton pit, the Monegasque chooses to stay out.
CL: Why? I didn’t pit, Lewis did. I won’t lose time and positions waiting behind him.
BB: Okay, now we have to stay out.
CL: Oh, sure.
It’s hard to imagine whether, with better coordination between the two drivers, the strategy could have been different. At the end of the race, the Briton finished fourth, while Charles Leclerc had to settle for sixth place, behind Alexander Albon.
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