“It was the right call”: Ferrari boss defends ‘aggressive’ Lewis Hamilton strategy in Spa

Scuderia Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has defended his team’s aggressive strategy with Lewis Hamilton at the Belgian Grand Prix. The 57-year-old weighed in on the relatively bold approach employed by the Italian outfit when he spoke to the media following the Spa-Francorchamps event.

Hamilton, who had started the race from the pit lane following a poor qualifying run, was the first driver to switch from intermediate tyres to slick medium tyres. The move by the seven-time world champion, who was at that point running in P16, saw him climb up to seventh in the running order. This bold decision to box Hamilton early largely salvaged what had been a torrid race weekend for him, as it ensured he finished well within the points-scoring positions.

Reflecting on the decision, Vasseur, as quoted by Motorsport.com, stated:

“The situation is that we were degrading the inters a lot and we were far away from the crossover [where slicks become faster] just because the inters were a disaster – they were completely gone. You put on a new set of inters, you are also six seconds faster.” “But I think it was the right call at the right moment – a bit aggressive. We were quite close to doing it with Charles, but Charles would then have been in traffic. It meant that we did it with Lewis, and I think it was the right call at the right lap.”

The strategy by the Ferrari pit wall also saw Lewis Hamilton continue his points-scoring streak with the Maranello-based outfit following his seismic switch ahead of the start of the season.

Lewis Hamilton likens his Belgian Grand Prix outing to Karting

Lewis Hamilton also reflected on his outing at the Belgian Grand Prix. The British driver likened his overtakes at the Spa-Francorchamps track to his go-karting days.

Hamilton completed several overtakes, including three on a particular lap, before switching to the medium tyres shortly after. Quizzed by Sky Sports F1 journalist Craig Slater about the overtakes, he stated:

“I always love races like that where you have a challenge and have to make your way through the field. That’s really kind of how my life started in racing at Rye House. We didn’t have such a great go-kart and we’d always start at the back.” “Very reminiscent of that sort of thing, and great work from the team. Disappointed to have had not such a great weekend — definitely one to forget, but at least we still got some points. And we outscored Mercedes, collectively.”

Lewis Hamilton completed the most overtakes of the Grand Prix weekend and was voted Driver of the Day by the fans. The 40-year-old will now shift focus to recording a much better outing at the Hungarian Grand Prix — a race track where he boasts a record nine pole positions and multiple race victories.

Edited by Rupesh