The Ferrari team principal remains optimistic: the feeling is that the technical upgrades introduced in Miami have worked, but the team is still in the process of fully understanding the SF-26. Tomorrow’s race is expected to be wet due to rain, and the French manager is convinced that the Scuderia can improve step by step.
In the Miami Sprint Qualifying, Ferrari was beaten by three Mercedes-powered cars: Lando Norris with McLaren, Kimi Antonelli with the W17, and Oscar Piastri in the second papaya car. Charles Leclerc’s gap to the world champion on pole position was 370 thousandths of a second.
In the Grand Prix qualifying session, the story did not change much: the Monegasque driver gained one position on the grid, starting behind Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen with Red Bull, with a gap of 345 thousandths of a second from the top.
The names ahead of Ferrari changed, but not the gap to the front. Lewis Hamilton is only sixth: the British driver is half a second off pole position, but the seven-time world champion managed to gain one position by reducing his deficit by two tenths.
How should Ferrari be judged after the forced one-month break during which the team introduced an important aerodynamic upgrade package? Fred Vasseur seems optimistic, while keeping his feet firmly on the ground. The Ferrari team principal offers a rational assessment of the situation…
We saw a certain fluctuation in performance between the cars, also compared to this morning’s Sprint Race and yesterday’s timed session…
“Yes, it is rather strange – Vasseur explains – but if you look at today’s session, Mercedes was the fastest, while yesterday McLaren was flying, and we are still the third force. However, we are all in the same phase of understanding the cars and energy deployment, so every session is far from simple.”
“It is important to always be there, to be consistent. First of all, we need to score good points, and step by step we must improve our understanding of the car.”
Has the red car been quicker off the line than Mercedes so far?
“Well, so far yes. But that does not mean that if it was like that yesterday, it will be the same tomorrow.”
You have shown a competitive race pace, second only to Mercedes. Is it possible to win tomorrow given that a wet race in the rain is expected?
“Of course, it is always possible when you start from the second row. And it is also true that from the beginning of the season we have generally been a bit better in the race than in qualifying. And I have the feeling that we are improving step by step. We are just at the beginning of something, but the season is still long and I think tomorrow’s situation could also be influenced by the weather.”
How many horsepower are you lacking compared to Mercedes and Red Bull?
“You should ask the FIA that question, but I can say that it is not just a matter of horsepower, but also of power delivery. Sometimes it also depends on which strategy you choose for deploying power: you can decide to use it all on the straight or in other parts of the track. I think Mercedes changed their strategy to take pole today, but we know that the process of adapting to the regulations is not simple.”
You are focused on the race, but the most important development area will be the engine: do you have confidence that the car can aim high?
“But I don’t need to have confidence or not. I need to focus on development to push the growth of all the people in the company: the goal is to bring upgrades to the chassis, as we did in this event, and that is what we will do as soon as possible also on the engine. It is true that there is the opportunity to take advantage of ADUO, but we have to wait for the FIA classification to understand whether we can develop the engine or not.”
But what do you expect?
“Every tenth will ultimately make a difference: I expect that in the end there will be a convergence in performance, as has always happened. And we must find that extra tenth.”
Do you have a memory of Alex Zanardi?
“Yes, I clearly remember when I started working in this environment what Alex was doing. For me he was a great champion in Formula 1, in endurance racing, in karting and in the United States. He was a true superstar, but I will always remember his determination and the fact that he always looked to the future in a positive way.”
Fred Vasseur therefore remains optimistic about Ferrari’s upward trajectory, believing that the team’s consistent presence near the front combined with upcoming rainy conditions and future engine developments through ADUO will eventually close the gap to their rivals.
