Frédéric Vasseur has shared a fascinating behind-the-scenes story about Ferrari’s performance in the Mexican Grand Prix. After securing a second consecutive podium with Charles Leclerc finishing in second place, and Lewis Hamilton only managing eighth, the Ferrari Team Principal reflected on whether the team could have made any different strategic choices.
The French manager also discussed the penalty given to Lewis Hamilton. While Fred Vasseur agreed with the stewards’ decision itself, he disagreed with the severity of the sanction, explaining that “ten seconds are too much for anyone to recover.” The penalty, according to him, cost the seven-time World Champion a potential fourth place or even a chance to fight for the podium. The incident with Charles Leclerc at the start certainly played a part, though Fred Vasseur admitted that Hamilton made a mistake by not giving back the position to Max Verstappen. As for Ferrari’s own race, the French manager was pleased overall but wondered whether something different could have been done. Here’s what he said in the press conference, as reported by the Italian website AutoRacer.it.
Vasseur on Ferrari’s strategic choices in Mexico: “An almost perfect execution”
“It’s the only race of the year where we use this level of cooling,” Fred Vasseur explained following the Mexican Grand Prix – “A lot depends on the cooling of the brakes, Power Unit, and tyres — and it also depends on where you are on track, whether you’re in traffic or not. That can make a big difference. In addition, with these open cooling vents on the car, you lose performance, but you don’t know exactly how much compared to others. Once we got here, from the very first lap, we saw that it was going to be a good weekend.”
Thanks to the smooth asphalt of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the SF-25 was able to run with a lower ride height, achieving an excellent mechanical balance between the front and rear axles. The final result — second and third places — was both unexpected and very welcome. Returning consistently to fight among the top teams is crucial for morale within Maranello and helps ease some of the tension with both media and fans. The cooling setup choices worked well, allowing Ferrari to manage brake temperatures without the constant concern that had affected earlier races.
As Fred Vasseur explained, the strategy was always to go for a one-stop race, but he admitted that in hindsight, things might have been optimized further by mirroring Verstappen’s strategy and starting on the medium tire compound. Nevertheless, what truly made the difference in recent races has been execution — a factor that Ferrari finally seems to have mastered, showing consistency and maximizing its available potential.
“In hindsight, you always think you could have done better”
“In hindsight, you can always think about something you could have done better,” the former Alfa Romeo team boss continued. “Max showed that starting on the medium tire and getting a good slipstream can work, but I believe that if you’re not out of position, the soft is still the best choice for the start here. We’re talking about tenths or even hundredths of a second — one gust of wind or a bit of dirty air, and you go from P2 to P6, and that changes everything. It’s a very close fight. Lately, we’ve made a real step forward in putting everything together over the course of the weekend. There’s no feeling, like in Baku or Singapore, that we left something on the table. Even in those races, the car wasn’t bad, but we just didn’t maximize everything.”
The Ferrari boss underlined that, compared to earlier races in 2025, the team has significantly improved its weekend management, minimizing errors and enhancing consistency. For the first time in months, Fred Vasseur feels that Ferrari has reached a point where execution — rather than raw car pace — is the real differentiator. This steady progression has allowed the SF-25 to express its true potential more regularly.
Could Ferrari have won the race? And a word on Oliver Bearman
“It was a positive weekend,” Fred Vasseur said. “We had good pace in qualifying, not far from pole position, but it was already clear from Friday’s long runs that Lando Norris was on another level, and that was confirmed in the race. He had at least half a second advantage over everyone. If you’re not P1 at Turn 1, everything becomes much more complicated. You can have a six or seven-tenths advantage in race pace, but if you don’t overtake on the first try, it becomes very difficult. We saw that with Oscar Piastri against Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman.”
Vasseur also took the opportunity to praise Oliver Bearman’s outstanding performance. The young Haas driver delivered a spectacular race, finishing in fourth place and holding off Oscar Piastri’s McLaren and the two Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. “At one point, I really believed he could make it to the podium,” Fred Vasseur admitted. “He has already had some great weekends, though sometimes with small mistakes here and there. But in Mexico, he was perfect.”
With comments like these, it’s clear that Ferrari sees a bright future ahead with the young British driver. Oliver Bearman is widely expected to wear red in the near future — perhaps even as Lewis Hamilton’s eventual successor. Much will depend on how competitive the 2026 cars prove to be, as their performance will likely shape the upcoming driver market movements. Charles Leclerc, too, could play a central role in those discussions, as Ferrari continues to plan for its next era of Formula 1 success.
Leave a Reply