After the debacle in Montreal at the 4.361-kilometre Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Canada and the disappointing qualifying session yesterday at the Circuit de Catalunya, Scuderia Ferrari leaves Spain licking its wounds and with a lot of bitterness. Expectations were high before the Barcelona weekend, with new updates supposedly giving the SF24 a significant quality boost. However, the Montmeló race confirmed Ferrari as the fourth force, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz now hoping for a better performance in Austria in less than a week.
In an interview with Sky Sport at the end of the race, a disappointed Frederic Vasseur tried to analyze what happened, starting with the contact at the start between the two drivers, which partially compromised their chase for the podium: “It was a small contact, but we didn’t lose anything in that phase of the race; we were fifth and sixth.”
“At a certain point with the strategy, we found ourselves behind some cars because we were all close together. We lost a few seconds, and I think we were just one lap short of catching Russell. In the end, we started fifth and sixth and finished fifth and sixth.” – the French manager pointed out.
“For me, the conclusion is that we need to do a better job on Saturday. Yesterday it was a difference of two and a half tenths in qualifying, and today we suffered almost the same gap. Considering 67 laps, we finished 20 seconds behind.”
“The important thing is to be on pace on Saturday. We need to take this small step forward; we have to do it because when you start behind, it’s difficult to overtake, and you have to take risks with the strategy.” – the Ferrari team boss added.
Speaking about the strategy of fitting hard tires on Carlos Sainz, which ultimately failed, the team principal explained: “Carlos, like Russell, came in a bit earlier. We covered Russell with Carlos Sainz, and by coming in earlier, we had to use the hards and mediums.”
And regarding Leclerc: “With Charles, the plan was to extend the stint a bit longer to have the opportunity to use the soft, but we were one lap short.” – Fred Vasseur continued at the end of the Spanish Grand Prix.
Ferrari leaves Spain as the fourth force
After the splendid triumph on the streets of Monte Carlo in Monaco, the Maranello team returns home as the fourth force, but Fred Vasseur believes that the field will continue to change from weekend to weekend: “This is our situation in Barcelona, that’s clear.”
“It wasn’t the same situation two weeks ago in Monaco, and I think it will change every weekend because there aren’t six-tenths between each car as there was in the past. Now we have four teams within two and a half tenths. This means that positions can always change.” – he said.
“Everything is still open. It will be all open in Austria next weekend. It will be a different format with the sprint, and also the track layout will probably suit our characteristics better.”
Finally, regarding Charles Leclerc’s complaints about the contact with Carlos Sainz, Fred Vasseur downplayed what happened: “I don’t know why; we didn’t see anything in the data. I think he complained more because he lost half a second or a second at that moment, but we can find ten other examples where we lost a second during the race.” – the French manager pointed out.
Source: f1ingenerale
