Vasseur: “”We screwed up this race””
Starting from pole, Charles Leclerc only finished sixth. He was the only driver to use the one-stop strategy. Frédéric Vasseur admitted that it was a mistake.
Frédéric Vasseur has the merit of having a real straight talk. In good times as in bad, you can count on him to present the situation as he really felt it.
In the Austin paddock, the Frenchman presented a mixed report: on one side, Carlos Sainz, who started fourth, finished in the same place but only a few seconds off the podium and Lando Norris. On the other, Charles Leclerc, who was on pole on Friday night, finished agony in sixth position.
The difference between the two: strategy. Carlos Sainz adopted the conservative and classic two-stop strategy. Conversely, Charles Leclerc found himself in a one-stop strategy, which no one else implemented: « We committed to a one-stop strategy and it was not the right choice. It’s obvious and I talked to Charles about it ten minutes ago. »
But the problem is deeper than that since the Reds embarked on the race, without being convinced of what the right strategy really was. This had consequences from the first relay since the Monegasque did not know whether he should push (two-stop option) or, on the contrary, manage his tires (one-stop option). For Carlos Sainz, the question did not arise since, in his battle against Max Verstappen, he damaged his tires and the two-stop strategy imposed itself.
This was not the case on the other side of the garage. « Our mistake is that we anticipated it would be 50/50 (between the two strategies) and it was not. Not at all. » Indeed, the problem with having a different strategy from all the other drivers around him is that he found himself having to manage traffic, getting overtaken once or twice by several drivers. Each overtaking loses almost two seconds since the driver is not on the ideal trajectory, has to compromise to give way. This therefore takes even more time.
When asked to project on Mexico, the answer: « First, let me digest this one. Let us understand why we f***ed up this race, at least for Charles. »
The analysis process has begun but not the fact of telling ourselves what could have happened because “with ifs”: « We must focus on the mistake. Understand why we made this decision because, at the time of making it, we were convinced that it was the right one. This means that the numbers we had on the pit wall and at the factory were not good. »
The management between the two drivers was therefore the least of the director’s concerns at the end of the race. If Charles Leclerc could ask on the radio why he had been asked to let his teammate pass, he quickly understood when Sergio Perez and George Russell came back.
From our special correspondent in Austin
