Vasseur explains Ferrari secret strategy after Lewis Hamilton frustration

Fred Vasseur has revealed the Ferrari pit wall did not want to tell Lewis Hamilton about his strategy in Zandvoort, so as to not alert rivals about what the team was initially trying to attempt.

Hamilton voiced his frustration over team radio when trying to be allowed past Charles Leclerc, asking if he had been left on track as a “guinea pig” and believing he had wasted time behind his Ferrari teammate.

Lewis Hamilton strategy kept secret to not alert Ferrari rivals – Vasseur

Hamilton eventually crossed the line fourth in the Dutch Grand Prix with Leclerc a place behind, as Lando Norris took top spot ahead of the Mercedes pairing of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

The seven-time World Champion took to social media to thank his team and take responsibility for what he described as being not “the best version of me” over team radio, while in the heat of action.

The Ferrari team principal, however, subsequently revealed that, had he managed to keep Antonelli at bay, they had wanted to keep Hamilton out until the end of the race on an alternative strategy, in the hope of finishing on the podium – but that had not yet been relayed to his driver.

Vasseur agreed he could see where Hamilton’s frustrations originated, though, explaining to PlanetF1.com and accredited media after the race: “We didn’t want to tell him the strategy at this stage because we didn’t want to disclose it to the competitors.

“We wanted to keep him on track until the end if he was able to keep Antonelli behind him, and I think it would have been the right call.

“Charles was supposed to pit, we extended one lap and there was a kind of confusion, but I’m not worried about this. Everybody will be back in the briefing, they will have a clear picture about the race.

“Charles also was a bit frustrated at one stage about the [tyre] compound, but I think everybody was a little bit lost about the compound.

“Sometimes we have to change the strategy or adapt because we are trying to learn from the others and for them [Hamilton and Leclerc], it’s a bit frustrating.”

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Part of Hamilton’s frustration at the time came from calling to be let past Leclerc on track, saying he was losing time and, once Leclerc pitted, he dubbed it a “great way of wasting time” while stuck behind.

While the Monégasque was brought into the pits and handed Hamilton free air, Leclerc revealed after the race that no call had come from the pit wall to allow his teammate by.

Hindsight brings clarity, but the Ferrari team boss made the case for why that moment unfolded as it did.

“You can always say after the race that you could have been better to do it like this or this,” Vasseur said.

“The story is that when Lewis came back on Charles, we were expecting him to pit, and then we had someone in the shadow of the car when we asked him to do one lap more.

“You can’t ask him to do one lap more and to swap position in the middle of the straight line – it’s not so easy.

“But still, if I have a look at the race now, they can do it differently.”

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