Ferrari has revealed that it used a ‘dummy’ radio message to trick Red Bull into adopting a two-stop strategy for Sergio Perez at the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Sergio Perez was running second just ahead of Charles Leclerc in the middle stages of the race at Yas Marina. The two were in a fierce battle for 2nd place in the drivers’ ranking.
However, as Red Bull appeared to have a bit more pace, Ferrari realized that Charles Leclerc’s only chance to take the lead was through strategy.
The opportunity came on lap 33 as Ferrari looked to undercut Sergio Perez to allow Charles Leclerc to take the lead.
Ferrari told Charles Leclerc ‘a box opposite to Red Bull’.
However, in reality Charles Leclerc was committed to a one-stop strategy and this radio message was impractical.
However, Red Bull responded to this radio and immediately called Sergio Perez to the pits. It was a moment when Ferrari’s trick worked brilliantly.
Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner said after the race that a combination of Perez’s tire condition and “Ferrari was gearing up for an undercut” was behind the decision to pit Perez. I admit there was.
Charles Leclerc had no intention of pitting, so Sergio Pérez had to make up all the positions he had lost with the tire change, eventually finishing 1.3 seconds behind Charles Leclerc. The two-stop strategy failed.
“I have to say that everything we did was exactly what we wanted to do,” Charles Leclerc told Sky Sports about the strategic decision.
“It was planned long ago. I can tell you now, but with that up we tricked him into thinking we were going to pit in the opposite direction. He accepted and made the second stop. So we did everything perfectly and I’m very proud of our execution.”
Ferrari F1 team principal Mattia Binotto praised the strategy implemented to help Charles Leclerc finish second. In particular, one of the areas in which Ferrari has made mistakes this season has been strategic operations.
“I definitely think the dummy call to Red Bull was a great call from the pits,” said Mattia Binotto.
“I think it’s been great as a team and great for the strategists. This weekend. It’s great to have a solid race weekend.”
“Second place and two rankings[drivers and constructors]is the balance for the whole season, not just today. But we certainly did a proper job today.”
“The dummy pit stop against Red Bull was the right call. Overall, I think we did it right. I’m happy for them and for the team.”
“I think there’s always a lot of criticism when you make a mistake, not just at Ferrari, but I also know they can do very well.”
Charles Leclerc believes the team’s impeccable performance in Abu Dhabi was all the more impressive given the added pressure from the championship standings and rumors about Mattia Binotto’s future.
“We did the right thing, we did the most pressured thing,” explained Leclerc.
“Of course, the external pressure of rumors circulating heading into the weekend, the pressure of maintaining second place in the drivers’ and constructors’ championships.
“I’m very proud of the team for doing their best in these circumstances.”
“I don’t think we were stronger than the Red Bulls on pure pace. I think they were still stronger than us. But we let them make mistakes, forced them to two stops and in the end it paid off. So I am very happy.”
Category: F1 / Ferrari / F1 Abu Dhabi GP