Strategy calls at the very start of a grand prix can make or break an entire weekend, and Lando Norris alongside the McLaren squad and Ferrari learned this the hard way at Sepang.
When the race finally got underway following a lengthy weather delay, the track surface gave a false impression of drying out. This optical illusion tempted several front-running teams into rolling the dice on slick rubber for the restart behind the safety car.
Instead of finding grip, the drivers on dry tyres were left skating on ice as the asphalt remained treacherous and slippery. Oscar Piastri showed great presence of mind by diving into the pitlane before the standing start to switch over to intermediates, salvaging his afternoon.
Meanwhile, Norris and the Ferrari camp chose to ride out their gamble. Lewis Hamilton reasoned that since they were already heavily compromised, pitting immediately would only compound the time loss.
It wasn't until the eighth lap that the slick-shod machines finally matched the lap times of the intermediate runners. By then, however, the early race damage had already ruined any realistic shot at victory.
Read Also
Oscar Piastri finis keenam di GP Malaysia F1 setelah start dari pit lane, namun akui McLaren kekurangan kecepatan untuk bertarung demi kemenangan.
Max Verstappen dan Kimi Antonelli tampil gemilang di GP Bahrain Sepang, sementara Red Bull sukses rayakan kemenangan historis sebagai produsen mesin.
Max Verstappen kritik regulasi power unit F1 dan sebut mesin rumit seperti mainan LEGO setelah masalah software melanda balapan di Sepang.
Continue with Google
Discussion (0)
Join the Discussion!
Sign in easily to start commenting, replying, and interacting with other readers.
Latest Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!