Ferrari believes Charles Leclerc being undercut by Lando Norris boosted his chances to take a momentous home win for the team at the Italian Grand Prix.
Following an on-the-edge lap-one pass by team-mate Oscar Piastri, polesitter Norris lost enough momentum to cede second place to Leclerc, who then split the McLarens during the opening stint.
On lap 15 Norris was the first of the frontrunners to pit, gaining the undercut on Leclerc to win second place back.
But with the position already lost, Leclerc protested over Ferrari pitting him the following lap instead of staying out longer, saying: “What was that?
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, makes a pit stop Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images Team boss Fred Vasseur explained that Ferrari wanted to stay on a similar strategy as McLaren “because we had a feeling at this stage that we had an advantage on the tyres”.
That advantage turned out to be so big that Leclerc and team-mate Carlos Sainz could actually make it to the end on a single stop.
But by being undercut by Norris – in the knowledge that the position was gone anyway – Leclerc no longer needed to push flat out on his outlaps, which allowed the Ferrari man to bring his hard tyres up to temperature much more gradually.
“We were really under control the first couple of laps, he was managing a lot, maybe more than the others.
And for the drivers instead that were pushing a lot from lap one, then the degradation was higher,” he explained.
But I believe it was working well [for Ferrari] in the first couple of laps with the hard compound to make it last to the end.”
Charles Leclerc’s chances of leading the team to a historic victory at the Italian Grand Prix are thought to have increased as a result of Lando Norris’s undercut.
Pole sitter Norris lost enough momentum to hand over second place to Leclerc after teammate Oscar Piastri made an aggressive pass on lap one. Leclerc went on to split the McLarens during the first stint.
As the lead racer to pit on lap 15, Norris gained the upper hand on Leclerc to reclaim second place.
Leclerc, however, objected to Ferrari pitting him on the subsequent lap rather than letting him run longer, stating, “What was that? Why did we pit if we are undercut?” after losing the position.
The Ferrari SF-24 driven by Charles Leclerc stops for a pit stop.
Authorized by Motorsport Images and Steven Tee.
Ferrari sought to stick with a similar plan to McLaren “because we felt at this stage that we had an advantage on the tyres,” according to team manager Fred Vasseur.
In the end, that lead proved to be so significant that Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz were able to complete the race on one stop.
As a result of Norris undercutting him and realizing that he would lose the position anyhow, Leclerc was able to gradually increase the pressure on his hard tires during his outlaps. That ultimately proved to be crucial in enabling a one-stop shop.
“It was evident from the strategy that a single stop would likely be the best course of action, but we also needed to introduce ourselves slowly and avoid pushing too hard in the first few laps,” Vasseur stated.
It is true that you can probably do a better introduction on your second stint with the hards if you lose the position and don’t fight.
He was managing a lot, perhaps more than the others, and we had the first few laps under control. At the end of the race, that was also the strategy that worked. “. .
Officials from Scuderia Ferrari celebrate as the Ferrari SF-24, running in first place, crosses the finish line at Charles Leclerc.
Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images provided the image.
“These guys are going to struggle to make it to the end,” Sainz said during the first stint. The Spaniard was correct, as McLaren’s worse tyre wear locked it into a two-stopper.
In order to prevent the phenomenon known as “graining,” which lowers tyre grip and about which teams were concerned prior to the race, Pirelli’s head of motorsport Mario Isola said that the “gentle introduction” of the tires was essential.
“If you consider what transpired on Friday during the long runs, you will see that the degradation was significantly lower for the drivers who were able to introduce the tire gently. Furthermore, he clarified, “The degradation was higher for the drivers who were pushing hard from lap one onward.
“Doing this job during the race is challenging because you have to maintain your track position and avoid going too slow.
“To prevent this from starting, you just need to be careful not to overstress the front or the back. You don’t need to slow down too much. However, I think Ferrari was using the hard compound to its advantage in the first few laps to make it through to the finish. “. .
