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Juan Pablo Montoya questioned why Ferrari would use one strategy that was successful, despite history showing that the track isn’t suitable for Lewis Hamilton.
After the race, a frustrated Hamilton questioned Ferrari’s strategic decision, especially as it pertained to their tyre choices.
And while Fred Vasseur defended Ferrari’s strategy in the immediate aftermath of the race, there are still some questions being asked of the team.
What went wrong for Ferrari at the Austrian Grand Prix?
After a successful Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix two weeks ago, Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari had every reason to be thrilled with their strategic work.
The same, however, cannot be said about their work at the Austrian Grand Prix. In fact, Juan Pablo Montoya was left incredibly confused by Ferrari’s handling of the Briton’s tyres.
READ MORE: Anthony Davidson spots ‘complication’ on Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari steering wheel at Austrian GP
Juan Pablo Montoya left perplexed upon seeing Ferrari’s Austrian GP strategy
Speaking on the F1 Post-Race Show, Juan Pablo Montoya questioned why Ferrari would try to use the identical strategy that helped them win in Barcelona.
Unlike last time, Ferrari weren’t able to bait Mercedes into making a pit stop to change their tyres. And on top of that, their tyre choices for Hamilton did not yield the results they had hoped for at all.
“I think they were better (in Barcelona) because they were in a three-stop… As soon as Ferrari pitted, they (Mercedes) didn’t react.
“They stuck to their horses, to their plan, and they went, ‘this is what we’re going to do,’ and it worked. Here, Ferrari were like, ‘Okay, we’re going to go early, and we’re going to do a three-stop.’
“But when they went to that soft set, I thought, ‘Oh my god, what are they doing?’ At that point, it would have been better to go with hards and do a long stint on the hards, and then put the soft at the end when you have less fuel load, just to generate a little less heat.”
READ MORE: Charles Leclerc admits his engineers are confused after Lewis Hamilton overtook him three times
Your championship standings after the Austrian GP! What has this win done for George Russell’s title chances?
Ferrari will be hoping Lewis Hamilton can return to winning ways at Silverstone
Hamilton’s tyres aged very poorly at the Red Bull Ring, adding yet another example to the list for why he believes the track is bad luck for him.
History shows that Hamilton doesn’t have a good record in Austria, and yesterday’s result was just further confirmation.
However, now the Briton returns home for the British Grand Prix this weekend. Hamilton is one of the most prolific performers in the history of the track.
With Ferrari getting an additional week to try and address their recent upgrade packages, they could give Hamilton a much-improved car heading into this weekend.
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