Scuderia Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has once again addressed the strategy adopted by the Maranello pit wall in the qualifying session for the previous round of the 2023 Formula 1 campaign, the British Grand Prix at the Silverstone circuit, absolving his team and instead blaming Pirelli for the incorrect assessment of tire durability.
The Italian side was the only one to send both drivers out on intermediate tires in almost dry track conditions, while everyone else had already switched to slicks.
Fred Vasseur absolves the team for the strategy in the Silverstone qualifying and blames Pirelli.
“We started with intermediates, but then we quickly switched to slicks,” the Frenchman stated in an interview for the Italian version of Motorsport – “We knew the situation would improve. We didn’t want to waste a set of soft tires. So we asked the drivers to do a few laps on intermediates. But they already knew they would come back in soon to change them.” – the Ferrari boss added.
What appeared to everyone as an obvious mistake in real-time seems to have been the result of a pre-agreed strategy. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were indeed the only ones to go out on intermediates. However, this was done to avoid going out on track too early and using up a set of soft tires.
“It’s easy to criticize the strategists from the outside,” the French team principal continued. “Sometimes mistakes are made because the number of laps that can be done with the available compounds is misjudged. Sometimes we are told that a certain tire can’t last more than 15 laps, but then they cover more. If that happens, it’s not the strategist’s fault, but the tire supplier’s. In general, however, we always try to use too many sets of soft tires too early.” – the Ferrari team principal pointed out in his interview for the Italian media.
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This is Frederic Vasseur’s perspective on the Maranello pit wall’s decision in qualifying. The call could have ruined both drivers’ weekend but fortunately had no consequences.
The real disaster came in the race with a too conservative strategy on medium-hard tires, which caused both SF-23 cars to slip back and finish in ninth and tenth positions. The unfortunate timing of the Safety Car’s entry also contributed to the debacle, with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton benefiting the most to secure a podium finish at the Silverstone track.
In a few days, the Formula 1 will move to Budapest for the eleventh race of the season. The Scuderia is called upon to return to the performance seen in Austria and this time be impeccable in terms of race strategies.
