Why Ferrari told Leclerc “the hard is worse than expected” but still used them · RaceFans

Ferrari’s decision to put Charles Leclerc on the hard tyre for his third stint during the Hungarian Grand Prix was seen by many as a tactical error which cost him victory in the race.

After fitting the hards Leclerc immediately struggled for grip, was passed by championship rival Max Verstappen twice and had to make a third pit stop which left the former race leader sixth at the finish.

However the poor performance of the hard tyre did not take Ferrari completely by surprise. As the transcripts of their radio messages from the race shows, Ferrari advised Leclerc to look after his medium compound tyres during the second stint, potentially hoping to extend it, and warned him it would take longer to warm the hard tyre up then they originally expected.

Ferrari were also preoccupied with the progress being made by Verstappen, who despite starting 10th on the grid was able to stay within a few seconds of Leclerc. Despite their growing concerns over the performance of the hard tyre, having observed the difficulties Haas and Alpena experienced with it, Ferrari decided it was a risk worth taking.

They were led to take this decision partly by calls they had made earlier in the race. During Leclerc’s first stint Ferrari asked him how long he could keep up his current pace on the medium tyres. Although he told them he could go for seven or eight more laps, and his lap times did not significantly drop off after that, Ferrari nonetheless pitted him after just two more laps. That kept him ahead of Verstappen but lengthened his later stints, making the soft tyre a less attractive option.

Had Ferrari not shortened Leclerc’s two earlier stints, he might have made his second pit stop late enough to use the soft tyres instead of the hard. That was, of course, the strategy Ferrari put his team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr on, once Leclerc’s bitter experienced showed them the performance of the hard tyres was even worse than they feared.

Charles Leclerc’s radio messages during the French Grand Prix

Leclerc kept his position behind leader George Russell and Carlos Sainz Jnr at the start. Russell started the race on soft tyres and by lap 10 the medium-shod Ferraris were closing in on him.