Ferrari knew that they were risking a possible double DNF, but Vasseur highlighted his trust in the drivers and marked the battles as a moral boost for the team. “Huge respect for both of them. They are professional, and I think it makes sense in this situation to let them race.” he told media after the race.

Vasseur also added that the team needs this kind of emulation to improve as far as it is done like it was done on a race day in China. Hamilton and Leclerc also said on the radio that they were having fun during their battles, with Vasseur commenting that he didn’t want do freeze the positions.

At the start of the race the Ferraris were leading, but Antonelli and Russell in Mercedes overtook them later. Their pace was better so Ferrari fell behind and it became an intra-team battle. Vasseur also admitted that perhaps they were pushing more than Mercedes in the opening laps of each stint so the gap between those teams increased later as they weren’t able to keep up with Mercedes.

“In the beginning, we were fighting with Mercedes, as long as we are in the one second and we can have the extra boost, we are able to keep the pace. But as soon as they are making the one-second gap, it's much more difficult.” he said specifically.

Ferrari finished the race behind Mercedes, Hamilton took his first podium with the team as he finished third, Leclerc was fourth. If Ferrari used the team orders, they might have been able to beat Mercedes. Even though they have faster car, Ferrari could have used the speed they had in the opening laps of each stint and in the turns to challenge Mercedes a bit more instead of racing with each other.