Ferrari was faster than Red Bull at Qualifying, why did they lose the race? (2024)

If your answer is "Max Verstappen" then you aren't giving enough credit to the strategy from Red Bull's design team.

I can't help but love Business Strategy. It's my passion and what we at The Seaker Group leverage for our clients to support their success. Formula 1 Racing offers an abundance of strategic lessons that can be applied to business strategy.

If you enjoy the sport like I do, it's a fun study that can double as work research. Watch the races, or even the Netflix series, "Drive to Survive" and then discuss your strategic takeaways with your team and add your comments to mine! You can even brag that you worked over the weekend! I'll share my own here and welcome yours as well.

For anyone who watched the season opening race in Bahrain yesterday, here is an interesting article that answers the question above in all the technical detail.

In Summary: Ferrari and Charles Leclerc was faster in their qualifying lap than last years champion Max Verstappen, yet Max finished 25 seconds faster than the best non-Red Bull in the race.

Ferrari's car was built for short term sprints, beneficial for over takes and qualifying, which is measured in 1 lap. Red Bull, we are learning now, designed this year's car to improve speed overtime...A benefit more suited when success is measured over a full race, or 57 laps. Seems obvious to design for wins right? But the complexity comes from the strategy around how to get there.

Ferrari's strategy was to earn pole position in qualifying, giving them an advantage in track position to win the race, but they can't defend against Red Bull's long game and need to re-strategize if they expect to win...I say this as a sad and hopeful Ferrari fan.

Red Bull, as they describe here, intentionally built their car to win the long game (race) in sacrifice of the short game (qualifying lap). This strategy required management to think holistically about all the elements that influence a win, use data to design for the desired outcome, and train their human capital (Max and Checo) to understand the "why" and implement it accordingly.

What a fantastic example of what it takes to "win" in business. Art and Science, taking a Holistic Approach and designing for the long game, even when you must sacrifice the short term KPIs.

If you are an F1 fan, what do you love about the sport? What strategic nuggets can YOU relate to your business coming out of the first race?