In Belgium, Ferrari returns to the podium with Charles Leclerc, inherited after the disqualification of George Russell. At Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the Red car shows a pace in line with that of the winning Mercedes driven by Lewis Hamilton, confirming the great balance that emerged in July. To return to victory, the Maranello team is counting on the favorable tracks scheduled after the break, as well as on the arrival of updates to address the bouncing issue.
The Spa race
Frederic Vasseur gives a positive assessment of the Belgian race: “If after 44 laps at Spa you finish 10 seconds behind the winner, it means the pace is decent. I am quite pleased with the overall performance but a bit disappointed with the position. The goal was not to finish seventh, but overall the pace was good. On Friday morning everyone thought Max would fly and win even with the penalty, while in the first practice sessions Mercedes was in trouble. Then they recovered, because we are talking about 1-2 tenths per lap, which over 50 laps makes 10 seconds.” – the French manager pointed out at the end of the Belgian Grand Prix.
The Team Principal also highlights the importance of executing the weekend well, as demonstrated by Mercedes’ ability to turn around their setup from Friday: “If you are able to fix a small problem or make small steps forward with the setup, it makes a huge difference in terms of ranking. Probably the positive aspect of the championship today, with 6 drivers within 10 seconds at the end of the race.”
Bouncing is the key
Frederic Vasseur confirms the arrival of updates after the break, aimed at controlling the bouncing exacerbated by the Barcelona package: “Fixing the bouncing would be a step forward in performance. We are pushing like mad to bring new features and we will do so as soon as possible […] The problem is that bouncing is not controllable. It’s almost impossible to simulate it, also because it can appear or disappear from one session to another depending on wind direction or other factors. We are all at the limit on this front. You can’t replicate it in the wind tunnel. We have metrics to imagine if the phenomenon will improve or not, but in the end, we are guided by the performance gains we could achieve with a bit more aerodynamic load. Improving these tools is a good exercise.” – he added.
Ferrari is not the only one facing this problem, with Mercedes also having to shelve the new floor brought to Spa for similar reasons: “It has not been easy for Mercedes as it has not been for us and other teams since the start of the season. We too are at the limit with development. We have had the same regulations for three years and have reached the performance asymptote. It is increasingly difficult to find the last tenth of a second and it is the same for everyone. We must acknowledge that bouncing is the key because it’s not just about performance, but driver confidence. If you gain 1-2 tenths of a second and lose 3 because the drivers lose confidence, the balance is negative.”
Fred Vasseur’s charge
The head of the Italian side is optimistic about the updates planned after the break: “Between Monza and Azerbaijan there is a sequence of tracks with characteristics good for our car. The most important thing is to score points. The goal for Spa was not to lose points to Red Bull and McLaren and we succeeded. The goal will be the same for Zandvoort, because I am convinced that the 3-4 races after that will be much better for us.”
“The most difficult thing in this championship is not making a double when you have the best car, but collecting points when you don’t. I think as a team we failed in this between Canada, Spain, and England. In that part of the season, we struggled a bit more and sometimes overreacted, losing too many points. Considering the pace we had on Friday, I think we recovered today, collecting more points than Red Bull and 3 or 4 points fewer than McLaren. Overall it is a good result for us, also because before this race last season we had a 339-point gap from Red Bull, while this year we were 67 points behind.” – the Ferrari team principal concluded after the Belgian Grand Prix.
