Vasseur supports Ferrari decision making during the Miami GP

In the final stages of the Miami Grand Prix, a key battle emerged for P7 between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

On Lap 39, Ferrari ordered a position swap to let Hamilton chase Antonelli. That switch left Leclerc with the task of defending against a faster Sainz.

Though the fight was more strategic than wheel-to-wheel, tension remained. By Lap 48, Leclerc was within DRS of Hamilton and reclaimed P7 on Lap 53, aiming to catch Antonelli. Hamilton, meanwhile, voiced frustration and was warned to watch for Sainz closing in behind.

Ferrari Team Principal,Fréd Vasseur, defended the team’s strategy during the 2025 F1 Miami GP. Though, he showed understanding for Hamilton’s frustration.

The swap during the Miami GP could’ve happened a lap earlier

On Lap 38, Hamilton suggested a swap between him and Leclerc. In his eyes, he was the faster car and could potentially chase Antonelli in front of him.

Vasseur then explained Ferrari had then to try and understand what was the difference in pace between Leclerc and Hamilton. This led Hamilton to be frustrated on the radio, as it took them longer to decide as he wanted, before the team decided to make the switch.

“It didn’t take so long – it was one lap and a half or something like this. And when you have two cars not with the same strategy, the first thing for me to understand [is] if it’s faster when you are behind due to the DRS or not.”

Vasseur admitted they could’ve swapped them earlier, but the team decided against. This decision was made because they “didn’t know” why Hamilton was faster than Leclerc. As it could’ve been the DRS effect that Hamilton used to his advantage behind Leclerc.

“It took one lap, it means that it’s one minute 30 to understand, and then we asked them to swap. Honestly, you can argue at the end that we would have been better to do it directly, but we didn’t know if it was the DRS effect or not.”

Vasseur Defends Tough Swap Call at Miami GP: “It’s never easy, but we did it”

Vasseur explained that it was a hard decision to ask them to swap during the Miami GP. Neither driver was entirely happy, either because the switch happened too late or the switch happened at all.

“And I think we take the tough decision, because it’s never easy to ask Charles or Lewis to swap. But we did it, and they did it on track. I didn’t see a lot of teams doing it.”

Vasseur told the media that it was team policy to ask them to swap. He alsosaid that the drivers will not overtake, as long as they are not told to. Though, Leclerc wanted to discuss the situation later, as he exclaimed on radio. Vasseur acknowledged that they thought Hamilton was faster and could overtake Antonelli.

As soon as it was clear that Hamilton won’t overtake the Rookie, they asked the drivers to swap back “to respect the initial position.”

“If you ask them to swap, it’s because we think that the second car is faster than the first one at the stage of the race.”

“We try to catch up the guy who is in front, and if we don’t do it, we swap back to respect the initial position at the stage of the race when it was clear that we wouldn’t be able to fight Antonelli with Lewis.”

Vasseur understands Hamilton’s frustration

Furthermore, Vasseur could understand Hamilton’s frustration with the decision made during the Miami GP. He explained that the drivers want to win races as they wish to win the championship. Arguing that it “wasn’t easy” to do this, but explained that it is the policy for the team.

“They are champions, they want to win races. We are asking them to let their team mate go. It’s not easy. It’s never easy, and I didn’t see another team do it today, but it’s why we took the responsibility to do it because it’s the policy for the team.”

In the end they should be “racing for Ferrari first,” explained Vasseur, as he admitted he though “they did a good job,” as a team. Though understanding that the swap could’ve been done a lap earlier of the Miami GP, Vasseur recognized that the team needed to control the situation.

“We are racing for Ferrari first, and honestly, I think as a team, we did a good job. Again, we can argue that it would have been better to do it the lap before, but when you are in control and you have to understand if the car that’s behind is faster than the car in front just from DRS or not, it’s not an easy call.”

Team decision shouldn’t be the focus after the Miami GP

Following a tense race weekend, Vasseur addressed the scrutiny surrounding a delayed team order that had briefly stirred controversy during the Miami GP. “It’s always much easier to do it two hours later. We asked them to do it, they did it. The frustration when you are in the car, I can perfectly understand this,” Vasseur said, empathizing with his drivers’ reactions in the heat of the moment.

However, he quickly shifted focus to what he believed truly mattered: performance. “It’s not the story of the day. We’d be much more keen to speak about [why] we finished one minute beyond McLaren,” he stressed, underscoring the team’s desire to move past procedural criticisms and concentrate on their on-track competitiveness.

“It’s always much easier to do it two hours later. We asked them to do it, they did it. The frustration when you are in the car, I can perfectly understand this. It’s not the story of the day. We’d be much more keen to speak about [why] we finished one minute beyond McLaren.”