It feels like déjà vu. Once again, after a promising start to the weekend, Ferrari failed to match its rivals in Chinese GP qualifying. Frederic Vasseur attempted to shed light on the reasons behind this drop in performance.
The Scuderia will start from the third row, with Lewis Hamilton in fifth and Charles Leclerc in sixth—far from what fans had hoped for after seeing the British driver dominate the sprint race during the Italian night. The SF-25 has shown better tire degradation management than its competitors, but it remains to be seen how the situation will evolve after the setup changes made between sessions.
Fred Vasseur explains the third-row start
Following Chinese GP qualifying, Frederic Vasseur discussed why Ferrari couldn’t replicate the pole position it secured on Friday in Shanghai. “We’re all very close. I think by the end of the session, everyone felt they could have done better. We struggled in Q2 but were competitive again in Q3. It’s a shame we couldn’t optimize everything. We’re in the fight, and the race will be long,” said the Ferrari Team Principal.
When asked about potential setup changes after the sprint race, Frederic Vasseur chose not to comment. “I won’t talk about it because it would only create unnecessary controversy. What’s certain is that we saw more tire degradation than expected in the sprint, and I believe the race will be decided by tire management. Pirelli’s decision to adjust tire pressures has nothing to do with it.”
“Going back to qualifying, we struggled in Q2 and couldn’t recover quickly enough in Q3. There were significant differences from one session to another, but this affected everyone. The race will be long, and we’re still in the fight,” Frederic Vasseur concluded at the end of the qualifying session for the Chinese Grand Prix, which was held earlier today at the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit.
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