Ferrari backed over failed soft-tyre gamble: ‘I would have made the same decision as Hamilton’

Ferrari took a major gamble at the start in Sepang, but it failed to pay off, with both drivers initially tumbling down the order.

The consequences of that strategic mistake were ultimately mitigated by what happened later in the race, however, as the sequence of events and the timing of the Safety Car periods allowed both Ferrari drivers to recover much of the ground they had lost. Hamilton eventually salvaged a podium finish despite the early setback, having started the race from second on the grid.

Speaking on the Backstage Boxengasse podcast, the former German Formula 1 driver explained that the drivers themselves also play a role in making such strategic calls. However, he highlighted that the unusual delay before the start made judging the conditions more difficult than under normal circumstances.

Schumacher said he would have made the same choice as Hamilton given the situation at the time. With the high temperatures, he felt there was good reason to expect the circuit to dry considerably faster, while starting on intermediates could have resulted in an additional pit stop once slick tyres became the better option.

He also pointed to the limited view available when assessing the circuit. With teams effectively judging conditions from the straight, which already appeared relatively dry, Schumacher felt the decision was understandable even though the expected rapid improvement in track conditions ultimately failed to materialise.

Like Schumacher, Frederic Vasseur also defended the reasoning behind Ferrari's decision, despite acknowledging that it ultimately proved to be the wrong one. The team principal pointed out that opinion on the grid had been evenly divided, with roughly half of the field opting for slick tyres and the other half choosing intermediates, underlining how difficult it was to assess the conditions before the start.

With no opportunity to test the track beforehand, teams had to make their decision based largely on the available information and their view of the surface from the pit lane. Vasseur admitted that starting on intermediates would have been the better option in hindsight, but stressed that Ferrari had made its call using the information available at the time.

Ferrari's decision was also influenced by the expectation that the circuit would dry rapidly. That scenario did not develop quickly enough to make the gamble work, leaving Vasseur to concede after the race that starting on intermediates would ultimately have put the team in a much stronger position.