Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says Lewis Hamilton would have won the Barcelona‑Catalunya Grand Prix even without the virtual safety car, underscoring his race‑winning pace.
Pit‑stop sequence sparks on‑track battle
Ferrari launched a three‑stop strategy, swapping Hamilton’s soft tyres for hard ones on lap 11; Mercedes executed a two‑stop plan, switching to hard tyres earlier.
Hamilton lagged George Russell by just over two seconds before his second stop at the end of lap 27, where he switched to medium tyres.
The duel between Russell and Kimi Antonelli forced Hamilton to avoid both Mercedes cars, influencing tyre choices and race rhythm.
VSC heightens Hamilton’s advantage
On the demanding C3 sector, the medium tyres let Hamilton shrink the deficit, entering the final laps within five seconds of Russell after only nine laps.
After his third stop, Hamilton trailed both Mercedes drivers by 16 seconds; the virtual safety car then triggered a mandatory pit, allowing him to finish ahead of Russell.
Mercedes considers strategy recalibration
Team boss Toto Wolff noted, “Lewis was the quickest after the restart”; even occupying the front would make holding him back tricky.
Wolff warned the team may need to “re‑calibrate” to avoid intra‑team drafting from hampering the hard‑tyre pace, noting Russell’s lack of pace may have helped close the gap.
With Fernando Alonso forced to retire due to a battery problem, the nine‑lap revival demonstrates the race‑day volatility and confirms Vasseur’s conviction that Hamilton would still prevail.
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