Ferrari admits its underestimation of the power of the undercut during the Singapore Grand Prix caused them to consider swapping Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc.
After claiming a sensational third successive pole position on Saturday, Leclerc controlled the race from the front in the opening stages before Ferrari opted to pit team-mate Vettel early.
On fresher tyres and in clean air, Vettel’s pace was much stronger than anticipated and, despite Leclerc pitting one lap later, the German jumped ahead.
This caused Leclerc to question why the team had favoured Vettel on strategy, labelling the call as “unfair” over team radio.
“I understand Charles is a bit disappointed, he was trying his best to win the race and he did whatever he could to win the race,” said Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto, as quoted by Motorsport.com.
“Did we consider to swap? Yes, we did. I think we thought that was the right choice not to do it.
“We will still discuss with the drivers whether it was the right choice or not. Internally we may still have a different opinion. We thought about it, but we didn’t.”
Binotto later explained the thinking behind Vettel’s stop was primarily to jump Hamilton and cover Verstappen but that the undercut had been “more powerful than expected”.
The decision ultimately guided Ferrari to its first one-two finish since Hungary 2017, the Italian outfit’s third victory in a row after a 15-race winless run.
Although it is usually agreed the lead driver gets priority on strategy, Ferrari’s call came down to not wanting to pit too early and lose time in traffic, as well as covering its rivals around them.
“Normally we are always giving the advantage to the car ahead, but in that case [the situation in Singapore] you will not stop Charles first,” added Binotto.
“He was leading the race. He would have been in traffic. It would have been a completely different move.
“Also, Verstappen was ready to stop. We knew that. And the best way to protect Sebastian’s position was to stop him, and make sure he as well that the following laps at least the pitstop crew was free for Charles’ pitstop.
“So it was the right timing to stop Seb, and on that there are not discussions. Following that was the right timing to stop Charles.”
