Ferrari’s tactical approach at the Austrian Grand Prix continues to generate debate after a weekend that saw the Scuderia fail to convert a strong qualifying performance into a competitive race result. Among those left unconvinced by the team’s decisions was former Formula 1 race winner Juan Pablo Montoya, who believes Ferrari made crucial strategy choices that ultimately worked against Lewis Hamilton.
Although Ferrari Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur defended the pit wall’s decisions after the race, the outcome at the Red Bull Ring has prompted fresh analysis of whether the Scuderia missed an opportunity to maximise Lewis Hamilton’s result.
The disappointment was particularly striking because Ferrari had executed one of its strongest strategic weekends of the season only a fortnight earlier in Spain, where Lewis Hamilton secured his first victory for the Italian team. Expectations were naturally high heading into Austria, but Sunday’s race developed very differently.
Montoya believes Ferrari copied the wrong game plan
Speaking after the Austrian Grand Prix, Juan Pablo Montoya suggested Ferrari appeared determined to repeat the successful three-stop approach that had worked so effectively in Barcelona. However, he argued that the vastly different conditions at the Red Bull Ring required a completely different strategic mindset.
According to the former Williams and McLaren driver, the Maranello team’s biggest mistake was not necessarily committing to three pit stops, but rather how the team managed its tyre allocation during the race.
Montoya explained that Ferrari’s strategy had succeeded in Spain because Mercedes had remained committed to its own race plan instead of reacting immediately to Ferrari’s aggressive pit stop timing. In Austria, however, attempting to replicate the same formula produced none of the advantages the Italian side had previously enjoyed.
He was particularly surprised by Ferrari’s decision to switch Lewis Hamilton onto another set of soft tyres during the race. In Montoya’s view, a longer middle stint on the harder compound would have reduced tyre overheating and preserved the softer tyres for the closing laps, when the fuel load would have been significantly lower and tyre management considerably easier.
From a strategic perspective, he believed that sequence would have allowed the Briton to extract more performance from the tyres while limiting the excessive degradation that ultimately compromised Ferrari’s race pace.
Tyre degradation once again became Ferrari’s biggest weakness
Austria once again exposed one of Ferrari’s recurring problems throughout the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc struggled to keep their rear tyres within the ideal operating window as track temperatures climbed to exceptionally high levels. The SF-26 repeatedly overheated its tyres during long stints, forcing both drivers to manage degradation instead of attacking the cars ahead.
For Lewis Hamilton, the challenge was even greater because he spent much of the afternoon trying to recover positions while simultaneously preserving tyre life. Despite using a more aggressive three-stop strategy and benefiting from fresher rubber during the closing stages, the seven-time world champion was unable to close the gap to Oscar Piastri ahead.
The race added another frustrating chapter to Lewis Hamilton’s difficult history at the Red Bull Ring, a circuit where strong results have often proved elusive throughout his Formula 1 career.
Silverstone offers Ferrari an immediate opportunity to respond
The encouraging news for Ferrari is that there is little time to dwell on the disappointment.
The Formula 1 paddock now heads directly to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix, one of Lewis Hamilton’s most successful circuits. The seven-time world champion has built an extraordinary record at the historic venue, where he has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to outperform expectations in front of his home crowd.
The Maranello team will also benefit from an additional week of analysis following the Austrian Grand Prix, giving its engineers valuable time to better understand the latest aerodynamic and power unit developments introduced over recent race weekends.
While Austria exposed several weaknesses—including tyre degradation, race execution and straight-line performance—the Scuderia still believes the underlying potential of the SF-26 remains strong. Rivals have consistently praised Ferrari’s chassis and aerodynamic platform, suggesting the car possesses the foundations needed to compete at the front once its remaining weaknesses are addressed.
For Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, Silverstone now represents more than simply another race weekend. It offers Ferrari an immediate opportunity to prove that Austria was an isolated setback rather than a sign that the team has lost the momentum generated by its breakthrough victory in Spain.
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