Ferrari surprises even Fred Vasseur amid Mexico front row: “I didn’t expect this improvement”. Ferrari surprises even Fred Vasseur amid qualifying result in Mexico.

In Mexico, Ferrari surprises even Fred Vasseur
No one expected this Scuderia Ferrari result in the Mexican qualifiers, not even the most optimistic member of the team, Frederic Vasseur. The Frenchman encouraged the group after the final free practice session at the 4.304-kilometre Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, which saw a Ferrari low in the rankings but not easily decipherable on dry laps, considering that the best laps were ruined by impeding. Perhaps he believed in the top four positions, but he certainly didn’t hope for a pole position and second place.

Instead, the SF-23 made an incredible performance leap in Q3 (in Q2, Carlos Sainz even risked elimination before Alex Albon’s demotion) and achieved an unexpected front row, the 83rd in its history, which bodes well for tomorrow. However, when they have to battle against Red Bull’s pace. But with two cars up front, Fred Vasseur’s directive is clear: Ferrari can compete, at least to stay ahead of a Red Bull RB19 car.

Fred Vasseur’s words
“Honestly, I didn’t expect this improvement. I would be dishonest if I said otherwise. Yesterday, we did poorly, and this morning, we were in better shape, but we also suffered from impeding. Tomorrow will be a different story, but it’s always better to start with the cars up front and not behind. In Mexico, you also have to consider the temperature for the brakes and the engine. I believe cooling to find the limit has been important for everyone, but we will see tomorrow,” said the Ferrari team principal to Sky Sport F1.

“I have been more optimistic than Charles since this morning. We had a good last lap, but it was hard to predict the result. It depended on the tires in the final sector, but I have always been very optimistic. We took some risks early on, starting with the mediums, but let’s say the drivers were able to fine-tune their driving in the last part and manage the tires even in the final corners,” he concluded at the end of the qualifying session for the Mexico City Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.