Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur defended the squad’s strategic choices after the Australian Grand Prix, saying the team does not regret how it played the race despite initially running Mercedes close for the win.
Charles Leclerc produced a brilliant start from fourth on the grid to snatch the lead from pole-sitter George Russell at Turn 1. The two drivers traded the lead seven times in the opening nine laps as teams adapted to the new energy-management demands of 2026 machinery.
A Virtual Safety Car on lap 13 interrupted the on-track duel. Mercedes elected to pit both cars onto the hard compound, while Ferrari kept Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton out. Mercedes’ strategy paid off: Russell and his team-mate ran long on the hards — roughly 45 laps — and were able to maintain strong, consistent pace for the remainder of the race. Russell took the win, Kimi Antonelli finished second, Leclerc third and Hamilton fourth.
Vasseur said the result came down to raw pace rather than a tactical misstep. He noted Mercedes were quicker across the stint after their stop, and Ferrari had pushed hard early on the tyres to stay in the fight. Vasseur insisted the team had targeted the best option for their race and would rather be realistic about the pace deficit than second-guess a deliberate call: Mercedes simply had superior long-run speed and tyre life.
Broadcasters and former drivers questioned whether Ferrari could have reacted differently during the second VSC, with Sky Sports’ Bernie Collins highlighting Mercedes’ confidence in their double-stack stop and Jenson Button suggesting splitting stops can be useful early in a season. Ferrari were also denied a potentially cheaper pit by a second VSC on lap 19 because the pit lane was closed when Valtteri Bottas’ stricken Cadillac brought out the neutralisation.
Leclerc said the decision to stay out was conscious and taken knowing there was a strong chance of more VSCs during the race; he accepted the call as a calculated gamble that simply proved unlucky on one occasion when the pit entry was closed. Hamilton echoed the positives from the weekend, saying the team has made progress and that with a few more laps he believed he could have caught his team-mate.
Formula 1 now moves on to Shanghai, where the sport will hold the season’s first Sprint weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix.