Ferrari has admitted it was “a bit scared” that Charles Leclerc might damage his tires during the early stages of the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix, despite his eventual impressive finish in third place.
Starting from sixth on the grid, Leclerc achieved an unexpected podium finish in a race where he had initially downplayed Ferrari’s chances of reaching the top positions. After overtaking Sergio Perez’s Red Bull at the start, Leclerc joined the battle for third place with George Russell’s Mercedes and Oscar Piastri’s McLaren.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur confessed that the ease with which Leclerc moved up the field raised concerns about potential tire degradation later in the race. “From lap one, we were in a good position,” Vasseur told Motorsport Week and other media. “But I know that after a few laps, you can tell if you need to push hard to stay in the group or if you are comfortable. We were in a comfortable situation, which usually means you push a bit less and therefore, your tires don’t wear out as quickly.”
Vasseur admitted he was worried when Leclerc was close behind Piastri early on. “I thought we might end up damaging the tires, but that wasn’t the case,” he said.
Leclerc managed to maintain his pace and gained the two positions he needed with an undercut strategy on Lap 24. Vasseur denied that Ferrari took a significant risk with an early pit stop, emphasizing the importance of track position. “The plan was to pit on Lap 25, so pitting on Lap 24 was not a huge risk,” he explained. “Track position is crucial at Zandvoort. P3 was quicker at one point, but when Piastri returned to challenge us, he couldn’t overtake, and that contributed to tire wear and a loss of pace.”
McLaren had opted to extend Piastri’s sole pit stop, but despite having fresher tires, Piastri couldn’t close the gap to Leclerc. “Track position was our primary goal, and pitting on Lap 24 was the right call,” Vasseur concluded.
In addition, Carlos Sainz showcased Ferrari’s improved race pace compared to their single-lap speed, advancing five positions to finish in fifth. “I was a bit surprised that we could overtake today at Zandvoort, especially with Carlos making such a strong recovery,” Vasseur added.
