Red Mist: More Ferrari fireworks in Shanghai?

In Melbourne, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and the team copped a lot of flak for not taking advantage of the early virtual safety car that ultimately put Mercedes on the front foot. But beyond what Hamilton suggested shortly afterwards, splitting strategy, was there another choice for the Scuderia?

I do not think so. Mercedes gambled on pitting both cars for hard tyres without knowing if they would last the distance. In the end, that call came down largely to luck. Ferrari also doubts it had the outright pace to match its black and silver rivals across the full race distance.

“I don't think we could have challenged Mercedes, but maybe I'm wrong,” Charles Leclerc pondered from the podium. “It looked like they had a bit more pace than us today, but maybe not as much as what we saw yesterday. So that's a good thing, but I’m not sure we could have won.”

“Mercedes thought they would pit again, but we were all surprised by how well the hard tyres held up,” team boss Fred Vasseur added. “We only found out during the race that we could have done 350 laps. So from then on, Mercedes could exploit that advantage. Also, they were eight tenths faster than us on Saturday and nobody else expected to one stop. We simply targeted our optimum and extended.

“So the issue wasn’t a strategy call, but rather the hard tyre’s pure long run pace. We also think Mercedes had better pace than us. They could maintain their speed better throughout the stint. Maybe we were able to fight a little more at the beginning while pushing the tyres harder, but for sure we were better than expected, so that’s very good.”

Looking back at the race itself, Ferrari drivers admitted the behaviour of the new generation cars was still unpredictable.

“It was a very, very tricky race,” Leclerc admitted. “Honestly, at the start I don't think any of us expected the fights or the difficulty defending overtakes with the energy deployment. You don't really know when your battery is going to cut in. The starter was also cheeky. The lights went off so quickly with these cars for the first start of the season, which took everybody by surprise.”

Lewis Hamilton agreed the race provided many unknowns.

“None of us really knew what to expect today,” Hamilton said. “We were strong all weekend even if qualifying never really showed our true pace. We had a few unexpected challenges in qualifying which meant that we were further back on the grid than we should have been. But the race was great from the get go. A couple more laps and I think I would have had Charles.

“So there are lots and lots of positives to take. We've got a lot of work to do to catch Mercedes, but it's not impossible. Thank you to everyone back at the factory. We’re really proud of the work we have done. Still, we must push and keep digging deep.”

All of which bodes well for the Tifosi. Like the rest of Formula 1, Ferrari now has a clearer idea of what to expect heading into the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend.

Shanghai hosted a Sprint victory for Hamilton last year, and with both Ferrari drivers potentially qualifying higher up the grid, the Scuderia may yet have more to show in Round 2.