Vasseur: Hamilton would have won Barcelona GP even without VSC
Originally published by F1i
Lewis Hamilton’s victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix may have been aided by a timely Virtual Safety Car, but Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur is convinced the outcome was never truly in doubt.
As rivals debated the impact of Fernando Alonso’s late retirement and the race-neutralizing intervention that followed, Vasseur maintained that Ferrari’s strategy and Hamilton’s tyre advantage had already placed the seven-time world champion on course for victory.
Hamilton’s triumph was built on an aggressive three-stop approach, a gamble Ferrari committed to early as concerns over tyre degradation shaped race strategy throughout the field.
While Mercedes opted for a more conventional two-stop plan, Ferrari pulled the trigger first, bringing Hamilton in after just 11 laps to swap his opening soft tyres for hard rubber.
The move immediately put pressure on Mercedes to react. Although George Russell continued to lead, Hamilton’s alternative strategy gradually began to reveal its potential.
Hamilton’s charge begins
The decisive phase of the race unfolded during Hamilton’s middle stint on medium tyres.
After making his second stop on lap 27, the Ferrari driver unleashed a relentless pace that rapidly eroded Russell’s advantage. Lap after lap, Hamilton carved chunks out of the gap, reducing it dramatically before Mercedes was forced to bring Russell in again.
By the time the pit-stop cycle had played out, Hamilton had established a significant cushion despite still needing one final visit to the pits. The Ferrari driver appeared perfectly positioned to attack the closing stages with fresher tyres than his rivals.
Then came Alonso’s retirement at Turn 9 due to a battery issue. The resulting Virtual Safety Car allowed Ferrari to make Hamilton’s final stop at a reduced time loss, ensuring he rejoined ahead of Russell before stretching away to a commanding victory.
Yet Vasseur believes the VSC merely simplified a result that was already heading Ferrari’s way.
"We would have won the race, perhaps with a bit less," the Ferrari boss said.
"But we were also in a good situation with a fresh set of tyres at this stage. It was positive for us, but I don't want to do the calculation what would have been in the race with this or this. But I think we were already in a very good situation."
Although Russell briefly reduced the gap before the VSC, the Mercedes driver had made only marginal gains, suggesting Hamilton still possessed the stronger hand heading into the final stint.
Mercedes acknowledges Ferrari’s advantage
Inside the Mercedes camp, there was little disagreement with Vasseur’s assessment.
Russell admitted the timing of the VSC worked against Mercedes but stopped short of suggesting it altered the likely winner.
“It did cost us a little bit,” Russell said. “I think Lewis, with the VSC, was always destined to come out ahead, to be honest. You know, he came out with a two-second gap.
“We probably lost a second, but he just had really great pace today. It was really impressive to see. Even in the first stint, at one point I was expecting to see Kimi make the move on Lewis and I was watching the TV screens and Lewis just seemed to have it covered.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff echoed that view, acknowledging that Hamilton’s pace advantage had become increasingly evident as the race developed.
Wolff also suggested that time lost through intra-team battles had further complicated Mercedes’ challenge.
"Lewis was the quickest of us afterwards," commented Wolff. "So, even if we would have come out in front of him, it would have been very tricky to hold him behind.”
The Virtual Safety Car may have removed some uncertainty from the closing stages, but according to Ferrari’s leadership – and even their closest rivals – the Briton’s tyre advantage and blistering race pace had already put him firmly on the road to victory.