Ferrari claims that Charles Leclerc's choice of the intermediate tyre for Q3 at the Brazilian Grand Prix was a result of a split strategy gamble motivated by its forecast for impending rain.
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Leclerc was the only driver to start the final shootout qualifying round at Interlagos with intermediate tyres, which caused the Maranello team to draw some attention. Leclerc’s choice proved to be completely incorrect as he ended up being the slowest of the 10 runners despite the fact that rain was blowing in and the track was dry enough for slicks. Leclerc was quite dissatisfied by the action and vowed to talk to his superiors on Friday night about how it could be improved going forward. The driver from Monegasque added, “We were expecting some rain, which never arrived. “I’ll talk to the team to try to understand how we might do better under those circumstances. However, I’m quite disappointed. The speed was there.
Read More -Results of F1 qualifying: Kevin Magnussen wins the sprint race in Brazil.
Although the “golden rule” of auto racing is to always use slick tyres when the track is dry, Ferrari race director Laurent Mekies stated that due to the impending rain, the team felt it was worthwhile to take a chance for Q3. We got both cars into Q3, and then we had to make a difficult decision, which is a little annoying, he remarked. “On the one hand, the track is still dry. Additionally, a maxim states that you should pursue that route while it is dry. On the other hand, we were anticipating impending torrential rain. As a result, our [plan] involves splitting our cars.
According to Mekies, Ferrari acknowledged that the decision would put one of its drivers at risk, but it believed the potential benefits outweighed this. “You always know that depending on how precisely the rain falls as your cars are about to go, one man will be happy and one man will be upset. That is precisely what took place. “The rain most likely arrived a minute or two too late for Charles, but at the perfect time for Carlos, who was second in line. P5 and P10 are the current configuration. It’s the beginning of a lengthy weekend.
Mekies acknowledged that Ferrari would need to learn from what transpired at Interlagos after a season in which those decisions were in the public eye. This year, he continued, “We have had many, many good qualifyings, including in very challenging conditions like today. But there is always much to learn about making the right decisions and about making the wrong ones in this kind of challenging scenario.
