Despite yet another seasonal debacle in qualifying at Zandvoort, Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur is confident that the setup choice adopted for the weekend will bear fruit in tomorrow’s Grand Prix. To find the first of the two red cars, we have to go down to the third row, with Carlos Sainz just behind Fernando Alonso. Leclerc, on the other hand, was involved in an incident during Q3 that will see him start from the ninth position.
Ferrari disaster in Zandvoort qualifying, but Fred Vasseur believes that the setup will pay off in the race.
“The gap is definitely too big, but in the end, it’s not the true picture of today’s session,” Fred Vasseur begins after qualifying. “It was very complicated. Charles crashed on his first lap in Q3, which was probably good, but today turned out the way it did. Now we have to focus on tomorrow. The race pace was good with very low degradation.”
“Charles’ incident? When you’re pushing hard, you’re on the limit. Probably, he put the wheel slightly off the dry line and lost the car, but it’s part of the game in qualifying. We knew the conditions were tricky, and he pushed. Maybe a bit too much, it happens.” – he pointed out.
Charles Leclerc’s incident highlighted an unusual understeer of the SF23, which didn’t allow the Monegasque to make the corner, going straight into the barriers. This prevented Charles from completing his attempt, so he’ll start from the ninth position tomorrow.
“Compared to a couple of years ago, there’s a certain convergence of performance,” Fred Vasseur continues. “I think the top eight teams are very close, with only Max in a category of his own. It depends on various reasons, and you can go above or below the potential of the car. Today there’s a mix where everyone can be second or fifteenth. This is the case, for example, with Lewis Hamilton and Alex Albon. It’s a big mix, and if you don’t express the maximum potential, you can be cut off very quickly. In these conditions, anything can happen, so you have to push. It wasn’t a mistake to push, it’s part of the game. The last five weekends have always been full of ups and downs, so you can get a good or a bad result.”
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It was known that the Dutch circuit would be a tough one for Ferrari, considering the result in Hungary as well. However, the sixth and ninth places still represent an unsatisfactory haul, forcing both drivers into a significant comeback on a track where overtaking is very challenging.
“Monza and Zandvoort are complete opposites. So, we have to try our best this weekend to score as many points as possible, and then in Monza, we’ll start from scratch. It was a technical choice to have this setup. There’s definitely an advantage on the straight and in high-speed corners. I think it will be less obvious during the race. Probably, it will go in the right direction for us tomorrow,” the Frenchman concluded.
Source: f1ingenerale
