The Scuderia Ferrari team returned to the podium at Spa thanks to a strong and consistent race performance by Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc. Meanwhile, his team-mate Lewis Hamilton completed an impressive recovery drive, climbing 11 positions after starting the race from the pit lane.
This performance reaffirmed Ferrari’s current status as the second-best team on the grid, with Charles Leclerc successfully defending his position against the relentless attacks of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen throughout the race.
Following the race, Frédéric Vasseur appeared on Sky Sport Italia to evaluate the team’s performance across the Belgian Grand Prix weekend and to provide insights into the new rear suspension system, which made its competitive debut at Spa.
How do you evaluate Ferrari’s weekend at Spa-Francorchamps?
“I believe, in the end, this was a very strong weekend for us, especially considering how it started,” said Frédéric Vasseur. “We brought a new package of technical upgrades to the car this weekend, and we still need time to fully optimise everything. Trying to do this in the context of a Sprint weekend is never easy, but overall, I think we did an excellent job. The race pace was decent with both drivers, and our target now is to steadily close the gap to McLaren race by race.”
Lewis Hamilton had a solid race today. He started with higher downforce and performed very well, particularly during the opening phase. Do you believe starting with more aerodynamic load is something worth considering for the future?
“No, I don’t think that was the decisive factor. I believe it was more about how aggressive he was in wet conditions, which turned out to be the right approach at that moment,” explained Vasseur. “Unfortunately, he then got stuck behind Alexander Albon, and from there, even if we had raced the 24 Hours of Spa, I think we would have still stayed behind him. That’s just how it played out. I am convinced that in a dry, standard race scenario, if Lewis had started with a lower downforce setup, he would have been able to go faster. But starting from the pit lane, it was a deliberately aggressive strategy to try and gain ground quickly in the first phase of the race.”
Do you think Race Control could have started the race earlier, especially given that some drivers had selected setups anticipating a wet start?
“In situations like that, half the grid wants to get going right away, while the other half prefers to wait. I think Race Control made the call based on safety, and I believe it was the right decision,” said Vasseur. “Even during the opening laps behind the Safety Car, visibility was extremely poor. And in such conditions, it’s better to take no unnecessary risks.”
But today, it seemed the race began in the safest possible conditions…
“Yes, but then if an incident happens, people blame Race Control,” Vasseur pointed out. “It becomes a philosophical debate. Drivers who chose a wet setup wanted to start, while others preferred to delay. Within our team, Lewis Hamilton was in favour of starting right away, while Charles Leclerc leaned towards waiting. And this mirrored the general feeling across the grid. Visibility is a very important issue. We’ve recently seen what happened between Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar – when you’re behind another car in those conditions, you simply cannot see anything. Yesterday there was another major crash in Formula 2 at Raidillon. You arrive and you see nothing. I will never criticise Race Control for choosing the safer option.”
McLaren continues to show itself as an incredibly strong car. Do you believe Ferrari, or even Mercedes, can still aim for a race win this year?
“Yes, absolutely. I believe we’ve made progress,” Fred Vasseur stated confidently. “Here at Spa-Francorchamps, the longest circuit on the calendar, we were just three tenths of a second behind McLaren. We still need to optimise the new upgrade package, and right after Spa we go to Budapest – a track that should suit the characteristics of our car much better. We must keep pushing, reset every weekend starting from Friday morning, and continue improving step by step.”
Max Verstappen couldn’t pass Charles today. Do you consider Ferrari to be the second-best team at the moment?
“Yes, I’d say we are the second force, but it’s by a very slim margin – only about three thousandths of a second,” noted Fred Vasseur. “They were ahead of us on Friday evening and during the Sprint, while we were in front on Saturday afternoon and in the race itself. We are clearly in a close fight with Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen, and I think it will remain this way until the end of the championship.”
Is there no realistic opportunity yet to beat McLaren?
“I believe there is always a possibility at every Grand Prix,” concluded Fred Vasseur. “We’ve already managed to do it in a few situations, like in Monaco. Now it’s a matter of optimising the new package, better understanding its behaviour, and working to recover those missing tenths of a second from Friday onward so that we can deliver the right performance over the weekend.”
