Ferrari stands by decision to pit Hamilton before 'surprise' safety car finish
Lewis Hamilton dropped to third place after Ferrari pitted him behind the safety car at Silverstone
Ferrari stands by its decision to pit Lewis Hamilton under the late-race safety car at the British Grand Prix, despite it ultimately costing him second place.
Hamilton finished third behind Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell after pitting for fresh tyres during a late safety car that was deployed when Red Bull’s Max Verstappen spun off into the gravel on lap 47.
Both Ferraris pitted for fresh tyres but while Leclerc retained his lead, Hamilton narrowly emerged behind the Mercedes of Russell - who stayed out under the safety car - as he exited the pit lane.
Ferrari anticipated that the race would restart and Hamilton would be able to overtake Russell and potentially challenge Leclerc for victory, but that scenario never transpired as the British Grand Prix finished under safety car conditions.
“You can discuss about Lewis if it was a good call to pit. If we don’t pit Russell would pit for new softs and all hard in front of him and we are taking the risk also,” Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur told media including Crash.net on Sunday evening at Silverstone.
“We are a bit surprised that the safety car stayed out so long and we were expecting a restart. We can discuss at length about the call but if I have to do it now I would do the same. It’s a good way to take the opportunity and the points.”
It was an eventful race for Hamilton, who was hit with a five-second time penalty for a false start, but kept his podium finish despite a yellow flag infringement.
On the false start issue, Vasseur explained: “From the sensors we don’t see the car moving on the grid but it’s true that on the video you see the sticker on the tyres moving a little bit. It’s not me judging if it’s a false start or not.”
When asked if he agreed with the penalty, Vasseur replied: “I think it’s a bit harsh when the sensor are not moving.”
Hamilton remains third in the drivers' championship but is now just 32 points behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli after the Italian's non-score.
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