Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Miami, 2025

Nothing for Ferrari to learn from Miami team orders episode – Vasseur

Formula 1

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Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur insists he is entirely happy with the team’s decision to swap the running order of its drivers twice in Miami.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc expressed dissatisfaction with the team’s tactics during the race.

Leclerc was initially told to let Hamilton by, and warned the team they had dropped him close to a title=’Carlos Sainz Jnr’ href=’/carlos-sainz-jnr/’>Carlos Sainz Jnr behind. Hamilton, who complained how long the team took to issue the original instruction, was then unimpressed at being told to let Leclerc through again later.

Neither driver was able to pass Andrea Kimi Antonelli ahead of them to improve their position, though Leclerc closed within one-and-a-half seconds of the Mercedes driver by the end of the race.

Vasseur defended the team’s strategy when asked about it during yesterday’s FIA press conference. “We don’t have to learn something,” he said.

“I took a decision – I think it was a good one – and then we explained the decision to the drivers. We checked the end and the chapter was closed. The chapter is still open for you, but not for me.”

So far this season Ferrari have been unable to replicate the strong form they enjoyed at the end of last year. Vasseur said they need to understand why they have been competitive at some tracks but not others, such as Miami, where they were beaten by Williams.

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“If you have a look at our performance, I think in Jeddah in the race we were in a very strong position – we did a very strong race – and in Miami, it was not the case at all,” he said.

“It means we have to understand this and make better usage of the car and the tyres if we want to be more consistent and try to catch up a little bit with McLaren.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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6 comments on “Nothing for Ferrari to learn from Miami team orders episode – Vasseur”

  1. Given the lack of results, Vasseur isn’t really in a position to decide for himself what he wants to learn from and improve upon.

    I get it, he wants to shield his team from outside criticism, but there’s a time and place for that. When even amateur GT teams handle swaps faster and more efficiently, it’s okay to admit it wasn’t handled well.

  2. I do think they might want to learn the importance of swift decision making so that if/when an opportunity presents itself, they are able to take it. Now it took several laps to let HAM try, so his softer tyres lost most of their extra pace already by that time, and then it took just as long to decide LEC could try again. The slow process made it rather pointless effort (and probably reduced confidence and compliance with team orders from both drivers towards their team).

    1. I do think they might want to learn the importance of swift decision making so that if/when an opportunity presents itself, they are able to take it.

      This.
      They started the two drivers on different strategies, so they were likely to meet on track with different tyre capabilities and states of wear, yet they waited until the driver on the faster compound was being held up by the other before starting to think about the best option. The thinking took too long as well.
      People have alleged nepo-hire rather than talent, these sorts of incidents do tend to lend weight to the suggestion being true, and the comments from Vasseur make you think he has been warned off the idea of removing the problem(s)

  3. Really? What about maximizing tyre grip in clean air in Hamilton’s case.

  4. I like Vasseur but what is he doing here..
    I’m just going to assume he chose his words carefully so he will take the flak himself. But I hope internally he says something else

  5. This is going to keep cropping up until someone deals with it. I appreciate that Fred is trying to protect Ferrari from an angry press, but without tackling the issue behind the scenes, the same category of failure (slow decision-making that takes inadequate account of the situation at hand) will recur.

    I will grant that it is possible someone junior to Vasseur may be able to do this.

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