Ferrari denies Leclerc undercut was performed to jump Vettel

  • Published on 29 Sep 2019 18:50
  • comments 2
  • By: Fergal Walsh

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto has denied that Ferrari's undercut strategy for Charles Leclerc was not done to ensure he overtook Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel took the lead of the race on the opening lap, using Leclerc's slipstream to propel himself into first place after he started from third on the grid.

Ferrari had planned to give Vettel Leclerc's slipstream as it aimed to get Vettel in front of Hamilton and run in a one-two formation.

MORELeclerc defends second pit stop as he feared Verstappen overtake

However, Vettel didn't hand the position back to Leclerc when requested to do so by Ferrari, stating that Lewis Hamilton behind in third place was too close.

Leclerc pitted four laps before Vettel and jumped the German driver, before Vettel retired from the race with an MGU-K problem.

“Looking at the video, looking at the start our judgement [was] that the start went as planned and therefore we thought it was right to ask Seb to swap the positions," said Binotto.

“Eventually, the two drivers may have different opinions by driving the car, but that’s something which we may discuss with them.

“We initially asked Seb to give the position back. But it's fair enough to say that at that stage of the race maybe Charles was not close enough and we would have lost some time on track.

"Later on Seb was quite fast and gained some track advantage on Charles. So we knew that we could have decided to do it later on.”

"The undercut was not for the reason of giving back the position to Charles, Charles stopped because of worn tyres. His left-rear was starting to be worn so that was the right moment for him to pit.

“We knew as well that if we would have stopped both our cars we would have been vulnerable on safety cars by leaving the lead to Hamilton. So we tried to stay out as much as we could with Seb simply to protect in case of Safety Cars in that period of the race.

"Seb’s tyres were worn, he called for it, it was the right moment to pit. He pitted and as a matter of fact Charles was ahead, Seb was behind but the race was still not over and there would have been plenty of opportunity to decide what could have been the best option later on.”

Replies (2)

Login to reply
  • f1ski

    Posts: 726

    BS . There is nothing wrong IMO to favor leclerc at this point. He is ahead in points so maximize his results. Stop controlling the public narrative

    • + 0
    • Sep 30 2019 - 01:04
  • Deny it all you want, it was pretty obvious what it was meant to do. As I've said before, you can dress a horse in a wedding gown and wed it as much as you please, but both you and the horse know that you are bedding a horse. Do I mind? Not necessarily. I found it strategically sound to try and cover off Hammy, and I think Leclerc could've done well in the clean air once the Mercs where outta the way.

    • + 0
    • Sep 30 2019 - 10:53

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2024

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24
Australia
5 - Apr 7
Japan
19 - Apr 21
China
3 - May 5
United States of America
17 - May 19
Italy
24 - May 26
Monaco
7 - Jun 9
Canada
21 - Jun 23
Spain
28 - Jun 30
Austria
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21
Hungary
26 - Jul 28
Belgium
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1
Italy
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22
Singapore
18 - Oct 20
United States of America
25 - Oct 27
Mexico
1 - Nov 3
Brazil
22 - Nov 24
United States of America
29 - Dec 1
Qatar
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7
19 - Apr 21
3 - May 5
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19
24 - May 26
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9
21 - Jun 23
28 - Jun 30
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22
18 - Oct 20
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27
1 - Nov 3
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team Aston Martin
  • Points 1,480
  • Podiums 56
  • Grand Prix 161
  • Country DE
  • Date of b. Jul 3 1987 (37)
  • Place of b. Heppenheim, DE
  • Weight 62 kg
  • Length 1.75 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar