A flawed strategy for Ferrari in Canada
It was another difficult weekend for the Italian team. Starting with an accident, it ended in confusion after a poorly executed strategy involving Charles Leclerc.

Ferrari encountered its old demons again in Canada. After two convincing weekends in Monaco and Spain (two podiums for Charles Leclerc), the Italian team leaves Montreal with more questions than answers, particularly due to a poorly optimized strategy for Charles Leclerc, as revealed by the telemetry, highlighting the very difficult weekend experienced by the Monegasque in Canada.
It all started during the first free practice session, where the former Alfa Romeo driver lost control of his Ferrari and crashed into the wall at turn 3. An accident doubly costly: not only was he unable to get back on track, the damage was so extensive that he couldn’t participate in the second session of the day.
A car increasingly stable over the weekend
In qualifying, hope still remained for the Maranello team. However, during his last flying lap in Q3, the Monegasque driver encountered traffic at the end of the first sector, just after having set the fastest sector time. The Italian car then experienced numerous aerodynamic disturbances caused by the Racing Bulls of Isack Hadjar, leading Charles Leclerc to abort his attempt. He only managed to secure eighth place.
Far from the leading positions, the Ferrari driver opts for a different strategy by starting with hard tires, just like Lando Norris right in front of him. If we look more closely at the telemetry, we realize that the Monegasque is quickly left behind at the start of the race (2 to 3 tenths per lap compared to the McLarens and Mercedes), with the Ferrari lacking grip. However, as the laps go by, his pace increases and even surpasses that of Lando Norris. Seeing that his tires were performing better than expected, Charles Leclerc asked the team to follow Plan C. This is when the Italian team lost everything.
Two decisions, two failures
Preferring to stick with the initial strategy, the team brought Leclerc in on the 28th lap. The Monegasque quickly took to the radio to express his dissatisfaction with this decision. Worse still, by choosing to pit for hard tires, Ferrari revealed its strategy to McLaren, allowing the British team to bring Norris in two laps later to fit medium tires. The Brit was then able to comfortably widen the gap on Leclerc thanks to his more efficient tires. He then stopped on the 47th lap, the moment chosen by Ferrari to make another mistake.
After Norris’s stop, the Italian team reacted too late. Leclerc then took to the radio to ask the team what the strategy was. The team responded to stick to the initial plan, while indicating they didn’t want him to do too many laps on the medium tires. This inaction cost him dearly, as after his second stop, he was 10 seconds behind Lando Norris.
A rebound expected as early as Austria
If victory seemed out of reach, the choice made by Ferrari is surprising. Leclerc indeed appeared fast for most of the race and wanted to make only one stop. This desire was quickly dismissed by the Italian team. Yet, Ocon and Sainz demonstrated that such a strategy was possible. Moreover, the gaps were such that the Scuderia had nothing to lose by attempting a gamble. Unfortunately, the race ended and everyone agrees: Ferrari should have listened to its driver.
The team led by Frédéric Vasseur will have two weeks to prepare for the Austrian Grand Prix and forget this difficult weekend, where it showed that it has not yet healed all its wounds.