Former F1 TV presenter Will Buxton claimed that Ferrari “robbed us potentially of a really good race” at the Australian Grand Prix.
The season-opening race at Albert Park in Melbourne started with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc taking the lead from polesitter George Russell. The battle between the Ferrari and Mercedes driver continued through the first phase of the race until the 12th lap when Isack Hadjar’s retirement triggered the virtual safety car (VSC).
While the majority of drivers chose to pit under the VSC, Ferrari opted to stay out. “At least one of us should have come in!” Hamilton said over the team radio. The Maranello outfit was faced with the same decision again when Valtteri Bottas retired on lap 19. Again, Ferrari stayed out.
“I think they just wanted track position, to be in control of the race, to be in charge of the race and lead from the front,” Buxton said on the Up To Speed podcast.
“But Lewis himself questioned even during that period, at least you should have pitted one of us and split the strategies if you wanted track position, sacrifice one but not both. And I agree with that. I totally agree with that.
“We saw it with McLaren last year in Qatar, and the disaster that that was for them. Fred Vasseur has come out, defended the decision, defended the team, but I think when you are in that position, to not react and not react the next time around either while the virtual was still out, just to maintain track position…”
He added: “As I said already, I think [it] robbed us potentially of a really good race between Ferrari and Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
“What I did like seeing, though, was a Lewis Hamilton more comfortable in his own skin, more comfortable in his car. Not on the podium, but not far off.”
While Buxton argued that the race would have been more exciting if Ferrari had opted for the same strategy as Mercedes, he offered a defence for the Fred Vasseur-led team.
“I mean, in their defence, and I will rarely do this, but in their defence, I don’t think anybody was expecting the tyres to last as long as they did,” he continued.
“And that virtual safety car came out so early that I think Ferrari were probably looking at it thinking, if we can stretch these tyres longer, we can do it on a one-stop, and everybody else is going to have to do it on a two-stop.
“Therefore, track position is actually beneficial for us, and in any normal race, that theory is sound, but because the tyres lasted as long as they did, Mercedes was able to stop that early and make those tyres last all the way to the end, I don’t think anybody sort of foresaw that.”
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