Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur defends Charles Leclerc's pitstop debacle in the 2023 F1 Dutch GP: "It was a very late call"

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur defended Charles Leclerc’s pitstop blunder during the 2023 Dutch GP at the Zandvoort circuit. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, after the race, the Frenchman felt that it was a late call made by the team but the correct one.

The Maranello team was not ready with the intermediate tires when the Monegasque came into the pits.

While Leclerc was one of the first drivers to pit for the change when rain hit the circuit at the end of lap 1, Ferrari not being ready with the tires cost the driver a lot of time in the pitlane, moving him outside the top 10 of the grid.

Defending the call made by the team, Vasseur said:

“The rain was in the last corner and he decided to pit. It was a very late call, but I think it was still the right decision because we were in a much better position than before even with the six or seven seconds we lost in the pit lane."

He added:

"For sure, if you are 10 seconds behind or five seconds behind and you make the call, it is much easier. But I don’t have to complain about this because it was the right call.”

A strategy error such as the one in the Dutch GP has not been a rare one for the Scarlet Squad. Their 2022 season was riddled with strategy blunders, which drew criticism for their abilities in decision-making.

Unlike Leclerc, Carlos Sainz hailed Ferrari for a well-executed P5 in Zandvoort and felt his strategies and calls were perfect. Although Leclerc has not criticized the team severely, he lacks confidence in their ability to execute races well.

A part of Leclerc's frustrations were evident in the 2022 season, where strategy errors and reliability cost him a close fight in the championship with Max Verstappen.

However, in Zandvoort, a late call by the team and contact with Oscar Piastri during the race made him succumb to retirement.

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Charles Leclerc believes consistency is the weakness of the Ferrari F1 car

Evaluating the SF23 and its weaknesses, Leclerc believes Ferrari need to work on the consistency of the car's performance.

Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, after the race, Sainz explained that the performance of their car had severe swings. At times, they are at the front of the grid, whereas at certain tracks, their performance just fell off and placed them outside the top 10.

Despite a fifth-place finish, the Spanish driver felt he had the sixth-fastest car in Zandvoort. Similarly, his Monegasque teammate felt that the Ferrari has improved since the inception of the 2023 season, but it is difficult to anticipate car performance going into every weekend.

Evaluating the pitfalls of the Ferrari SF23, Leclerc said:

“We know what we need to be working on, and this is the consistency of the car. There is no doubt that we have made steps forward since the beginning of the year, but we are still far off and for some reason [at Zandvoort] it is more than we would have expected."

He continued:

"We know it is still a weakness, the consistency of the car, and we are working towards [fixing it]. It is very difficult every time you get into the car, not knowing what you are going to get. It is not a situation that I like.”

Ferrari are currently fourth in the championship standings and face stiff competition from Mercedes, Aston Martin, and McLaren, who have all shown more consistency and improved their performance.

While they had some good results in Hungary and Belgium, they seemed to lack performance in Zandvoort.

After battling Red Bull in the 2022 season, the Scarlet Squad are now battling to retain a spot in the top three as their rivals continue to develop their cars and gain ground in terms of performance.

With the Italian GP being a home race for the Maranello team, it is very important for Ferrari to perform well in front of the Tifosi and team partners.