Position swap between Leclerc and Hamilton in China Sprint Qualifying: what was behind the unusual team order. The two Ferrari drivers were at the center of an unusual team order.

Unusual order

Before the excellent SQ3, which gave Lewis Hamilton the first ‘mini’ pole position for Ferrari and a decent fourth place for Charles Leclerc, the two Ferrari drivers were involved in a particular situation during SQ2. While both were completing their out-laps, the Monegasque was asked via radio to let the seven-time world champion, who was following him, pass. This request was followed by Leclerc, though he expressed some displeasure: “I’ll do it, but we’ve never done this before and I’m also a bit in trouble, so…” For this slow-down, Charles Leclerc was also investigated by the stewards for not respecting the minimum time set by Race Direction but was later ‘absolved.’

The explanation

So, how did this situation come about? To understand this, we need to analyze the radio communications between the two drivers – which clearly show that the request for the position swap came directly from Hamilton – and also the laps prior during SQ2. The two Ferraris had actually exited the pits with car #44 ahead of #16. However, during the first timed lap, Hamilton completed his lap, while Leclerc made a mistake at Turn 6 and aborted his fast lap, asking his track engineer for permission to attempt another lap in the following lap, instead of using the entire lap to cool down his tires.

Leclerc: “Can we do a ‘push-cool-push’?”
Bozzi: “Yes, we can do a ‘push-cool-push.’ So we’ll push after this lap.”

Hamilton, ahead of him, completed his first attempt normally, even though it wasn’t a perfect lap.

Now Hamilton proceeds slowly on track to cool down his tires and find the right temperature, while Leclerc, behind him, is working on his fast lap after aborting his first attempt. Hamilton is promptly informed by Adami of Leclerc’s position and lets him pass. However, it was also decided to have Hamilton complete a second cooling lap, preferring this to a pit stop, which could have caused difficulties with traffic on track.

Adami: “Charles aborted, just for info.”
Hamilton: “Did you say we stay out?”
Adami: “Yes, we prefer to stay out due to traffic. Charles is pushing behind.”
Hamilton: “It’s very hard to lower the temperature.”
Adami: “Got it, understood. Charles is pushing behind, 10 seconds.”
Adami: “Charles is pushing behind, four seconds. Charles is closing in, watch your mirrors and do your cooling on the straight.”

After completing his fast lap – finally finished – Leclerc is told to do just one cooling lap, likely due to time constraints. So, on track, Leclerc and Hamilton are aligned, both doing a slow lap, but with their positions swapped compared to the order in which they exited the pit lane. This situation was not liked by Hamilton, who explicitly asked for clear track ahead to manage his tire temperature better. This request led to the position swap on track, which occurred at the exit of Turn 10.

Bozzi (to Leclerc): “Let’s do just one cooling lap. One lap.”
Hamilton: “Charles is ahead of me. Is he going for the next lap or…?”
Adami: “He’s going for the next lap. The car behind, no pressure from behind.”
Hamilton: “Yes, but I don’t have any space.”
Adami: “Do you want to swap cars, question?”
Hamilton: “Yes, that’s where I should be.”

Bozzi: “Can we swap the cars, please?”
Leclerc: “Swap the cars now?”
Bozzi: “Yes, please.”
Leclerc: “Yes, I’ll do it, but we’ve never done this before, and I’m also a bit in trouble, so…”