Just like in Austin, Ferrari needed a strong rebound after a difficult Friday, and they delivered once again in Brazil. The team worked on adjusting wing settings and ride heights to gain speed on the straights and recover those crucial hundredths in an exceptionally tight grid. Team principal Frederic Vasseur expressed satisfaction with the results and also highlighted Ferrari’s World Endurance Championship victories in Bahrain.
After a challenging Friday, finding a reason to smile was essential: Charles Leclerc’s third-place finish provides an excellent starting point to approach the rest of the weekend with confidence. A podium could prove vital in the battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship, a battle where Mercedes has consistently remained competitive.
The second-row start was likely unexpected for the Monegasque, especially as the car felt good but the lap time hadn’t matched the sensation. Examining the gaps, the distance to the McLaren did not decrease significantly compared to Friday, particularly considering a small issue had cost roughly a tenth of a second on the final time.
This indicates, as Leclerc confirmed, that the car did not undergo a complete transformation but rather targeted adaptations to address what hadn’t worked the previous day. Specifically, ride heights were adjusted — now a common practice for Ferrari — and wing configuration was modified, reducing rear wing load.
Fred Vasseur explained to Sky that Ferrari opted for a higher-downforce setup after testing two configurations in Friday practice, also anticipating rain during the sprint race. Brazilian authorities had even issued warnings for a potential morning storm.
However, the rain did not materialize: the sprint race ran on slick tires under nearly dry conditions, with only a few damp patches. On a dry track, a heavily loaded rear wing and an imperfectly calibrated ride height setup penalized top speed on the straights.
It was no coincidence that Ferrari ranked among the slower top teams on the straights. The plan was to compensate in the second, more technical sector, but it didn’t work out. Ultimately, ride heights were revised, and the rear wing was lightened — two changes that together yielded nearly 10 km/h in top speed, allowing Ferrari to recover valuable time.
That was the secret: gaining margin on the straights, even at the expense of some performance in the twisty sectors. This allowed the team to recover the tenths that, on such a tight grid, made the difference and secured Charles Leclerc’s third place. “This comes from the fact that the grid is increasingly close,” Fred Vasseur explained.
“We’re talking about tenths between first and sixteenth, meaning a small mistake, a less-than-perfect launch lap, or getting slightly blocked in traffic can already result in elimination in Q1 or Q2.” – the French manager pointed out – “This is similar to what happened two or three weeks ago in Austin, where we recovered well after sprint qualifying. Compared to today, the improvement there was more evident, whereas today we did a much better job than yesterday. It’s about putting everything together and executing each detail well to make a difference. It’s not about tenths, but hundredths that can take you from tenth to third.”
Finally, Fred Vasseur highlighted Ferrari’s WEC success in Bahrain, winning the championship at the end of a spectacular season: “Yes, it’s positive. In the end, it’s a single team, a single company, and we are very happy about Ferrari’s victory in Bahrain. We bring that gold to our support here in São Paulo. It’s great for team and company morale.”
“We will push hard to support each other. The collaboration is strong, and I’m very happy with what has happened. It’s also a positive energy that we need,” Fred Vasseur concluded.
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