Jerome d’Ambrosio responds to Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari strategy complaints

Ferrari secured a 3-4 finish at the Austrian Grand Prix with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, respectively. However, despite the strong finish, the seven-time champion was heard raising concerns about the team’s strategy over the radio. 

Ferrari deputy team chief Jerome d’Ambrosio, who was standing in for Fred Vasseur after he left the Red Bull Ring for personal reasons, has responded to Hamilton’s concerns, insisting that the optimal strategy was taken. 

Hamilton explained to his race engineer, Riccardo Adami, “My tyres are okay. Can I extend? How many more laps left?” In response, Adami confirmed there were 20 laps remaining and called him into the pits, something the Briton disagreed with at the time.

“In the end, you know, it’s nothing out of the norm. What we tried to do as a team was to – Austria is very much like that – you try to do your optimal strategy,” the deputy team principal explained.

“So, you know, you try to optimise your race time and that’s what we did with both drivers. To be honest, there was no incentive in doing anything different because [the] McLarens were clearly far ahead and George quite far behind.

“So, we were in between them with both cars and we just did a standard optimal strategy and that was the most straightforward thing to do.

“From a driver’s perspective, your question always is, ‘Is it the best? Can we do something else?’ They’re racers, they’re Formula 1 drivers, that’s what they should do and that’s what they do. But in the end, just show Lewis now and you look at the numbers and yeah, that’s what made sense.”

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images

In fairness to the Maranello outfit, Hamilton admitted following the race that he did ultimately agree with the team’s choices.

“Yeah, I didn’t know how many laps there were, to be honest, at the time,” the former Mercedes driver explained. “Honestly, the pace wasn’t looking great, but I felt like I could keep going. The balance was OK, but ultimately, I think it’s the right decision.”

Photos from Austrian GP – Race