Frédéric Vasseur has defended Ferrari’s decision to start both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc on Soft slick tyres at Sepang, arguing that when a team is convinced one option is superior, it makes sense to commit both cars to the same strategy. The gamble proved extremely costly on the wet track, but Ferrari ultimately recovered to finish third and fourth after an impressive comeback.
The Ferrari team principal described the overall performance as “strong and convincing” after Lewis Hamilton reached the podium and Charles Leclerc finished fourth, despite both SF-26s having fallen more than a minute behind cars that started on intermediate tyres.
Frédéric Vasseur defends Ferrari’s decision not to split tyre strategies
In Formula 1, the difference between a potentially outstanding result and a disastrous situation can sometimes come down to a single decision. At Sepang, Ferrari experienced both extremes during one of the most chaotic races of the season.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both started on Soft tyres despite the circuit still being wet following the torrential rain earlier in the day. The choice sent the two Ferraris tumbling down the order and more than a minute behind the drivers who had selected intermediates.
At that stage, Ferrari’s hopes of a strong result appeared to have disappeared. Instead, with Benedetto Vigna watching from the garage, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc launched a major recovery that ultimately carried the seven-time world champion onto the podium and the Monegasque driver into fourth place.
The performance of both SF-26s was strong for much of the race. The only phase that raised some questions was Lewis Hamilton’s stint on the Medium compound, although that appeared to concern the behaviour of the tyre rather than the underlying performance of the car. The different compounds and stint sequences can be explored further through the F1 Tyre & Stint Analysis.
That pace inevitably created some regret over the original tyre decision. After the race, however, Frédéric Vasseur explained to Sky Italia why Ferrari had not divided the strategy between its two cars.
“I think that when you’re convinced one option is better than the others, you have to go for it with both drivers. McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes did the same as well. Fifty per cent of the cars on the grid chose intermediates, while the others chose dry tyres.”
Frédéric Vasseur stressed that judging the call afterwards was much easier than making it before the start, when Ferrari had very limited information available.
“Clearly, after the race it is easier to say that one choice is better than another. But when you are in the pit lane before the start of the race, you only have information from the grid. And nothing else. On the first lap you discover whether the choice is right or not. But at that point, coming in to change tyres is too late.”
The gamble was particularly significant because Ferrari had entered the weekend with reasons to believe the available compounds could suit the SF-26, an issue explored in more detail in ScuderiaFans’ analysis of Pirelli’s Sepang tyre compounds and Ferrari.
Frédéric Vasseur addresses unusual power problems behind Safety Car
Frédéric Vasseur also offered a brief explanation for the strange problems that affected several cars during the formation procedure behind the Safety Car. Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Gabriel Bortoleto and a Cadillac all stopped or suffered a loss of power.
“Everything started with Max Verstappen. He lost the engine on the out-lap, then it happened to Lewis Hamilton and also to Gabriel Bortoleto. I don’t think it is completely clear, but it seems to have been an FIA software problem. When the red flag came, changes were made and everything worked.”
The problem added another unusual element to a race weekend that Ferrari ultimately judged positively despite the costly opening strategy.
Ferrari pace leaves Frédéric Vasseur encouraged despite tyre mistake
Looking at the weekend as a whole, Frédéric Vasseur was satisfied with the competitiveness shown by the SF-26. Ferrari performed strongly both over a single lap and during the race, producing pace comparable with the cars fighting for victory.
Max Verstappen was probably beyond the reach of the rest of the field on race day, but second place may not have been unrealistic for Ferrari without the enormous amount of time lost at the beginning.
“Overall, ours was a strong and convincing performance. There was certainly a strange test to get through with the choices on the grid, but overall it went well. Yesterday’s qualifying was positive, and today we came back from 20th and 21st to third and fourth. And both cars had excellent pace.”
Frédéric Vasseur also highlighted how much work Charles Leclerc’s side of the garage had to do throughout the race while still securing fourth place.
“If we also think about all the times we called Charles Leclerc in to change tyres and we still finished third and fourth, it is a very good result. Now we are back on track in seven days and we will try to do better in Singapore.”
Ferrari therefore leaves Sepang with both satisfaction and regret: the initial gamble badly compromised its race, but the subsequent recovery demonstrated the competitiveness of the SF-26. The next opportunity arrives quickly, with Singapore following on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar.
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