Pirelli Motorsport Director Mario Isola has given his take on Ferrari's strategy calls following much discussion over the team's decisions at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc had been leading the race when Red Bull's Max Verstappen attempted to undercut the leaders by making his final pit-stop first. The Scuderia reacted by pitting Leclerc for Hard tyres, but the Monegasque struggled for tyre temperatures and surrendered the lead to Verstappen. Leclerc's problems worsened when he was passed by George Russell and Carlos Sainz, prompting Ferrari to call him in for another pit-stop to fit Soft tyres. This dropped him down to a final position of P6.
Isola reflects on Ferrari's strategy calls
With other teams having struggled with the Hard compound during the race, Isola was asked whether he was surprised by Ferrari's decision to use the tyres for Leclerc. "I believe they had a strategy in mind, because they are a good team and they know what they are doing," Isola told media, including RacingNews365.com . "So they probably had a plan, and the plan was not working as expected. "The Hard showed a lower level of grip since Friday [in Hungary], in hotter conditions. [We were not] expecting the grip [to be] improving on Sunday with cooler conditions."
Pirelli impressed by different strategies
There were various strategies at play during the race in Hungary, which was eventually won by championship leader Verstappen. Isola was pleased to see this amount of variation. "I'm happy that we had all the three compounds used during the race, so different strategies," he explained. "Probably this is one of the dry races with the highest number of strategies [we have had], and also a lot of action on track and a lot of close racing, overtaking and so on. On our side, it was working quite well. "Clearly, for the championship, the fact that Ferrari [were] not leading the race is another story." Following Verstappen's victory at the Hungaroring, the Dutchman has an 80-point lead over Leclerc in the World Championship standings, while Red Bull are 97 points ahead of Ferrari in the Constructors'.
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