Leclerc’s Podium Hopes Dashed by Pit Miscalculation

Ferrari’s pit misjudgment in São Paulo dropped Leclerc behind rivals, but the team defends the strategy amid unpredictable conditions.

Ferrari admitted to having “underestimated” the time loss in the pit lane during the stop that dropped Charles Leclerc behind other cars at the Brazilian Grand Prix in São Paulo.

Leclerc conceded that Ferrari’s decision to switch to intermediate tires seven laps before the red flag contributed to missing a potential podium in Brazil.

The Monegasque was the first driver to pit on lap 25, costing him positions to eventual race winner Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly in the Alpine.

Both drivers, along with Gasly’s teammate at Alpine, Esteban Ocon, took advantage of Franco Colapinto’s Williams crash on lap 32 to change tires during the race suspension.

But even before that, Leclerc’s progress was hampered by Oliver Bearman and Lewis Hamilton just ahead.

However, Ferrari boss Frédéric Vasseur agreed with his McLaren counterpart, Andrea Stella, that stopping at that stage was a sensible choice given the deteriorating conditions.

“It was a tough Sunday, but overall, it wasn’t a dramatic weekend. It’s more about some choices that were quite difficult to anticipate, like the pit stop.”

“Unfortunately, you can say at the end of the day that if you stay on track and wait for the red flag, it’s the right decision, but if you crash, you look foolish.”

“Honestly, weekends like this are quite difficult to manage from the pit wall and the car.”

“But it’s more about the pace and setups that are perhaps a cause for concern. We were seven-tenths slower than [Lando] Norris at the start of the final stint and probably six or seven-tenths faster than him at the end.”

Vasseur stated that Ferrari hadn’t accounted for the fact that the winding pit exit at Interlagos was slower to navigate on a wet track, which cost Leclerc more time.

However, the Frenchman is firm in his belief that the only change that might have given Leclerc a better result than his eventual fifth place was to stay on track until the red flag.

“I think we underestimated the loss at the pit exit. It was very, very slippery, and he lost a few tenths, which was enough for him to lose positions to Lewis and Oliver.”

“But I don’t think it changed the outcome because, in the end, we would have pitted on the next lap with the VSC.”

“It didn’t change the outcome; the best strategy would have been to stay on track and wait for the red flag, but that’s always hypothetical. If Colapinto doesn’t crash, there’s no red flag.”