The 2025 Monaco Grand Prix ended with mixed emotions for Scuderia Ferrari. Charles Leclerc secured an important second place, while Lewis Hamilton, despite good pace, finished fifth after a qualifying penalty on Saturday. Team principal Frédéric Vasseur commented on the team’s performance in the narrow streets of Monaco and raised concerns about what took place in the pit lane.
Charles Leclerc kept up with Lando Norris throughout the race but, as is often the case in Monaco, overtaking proved impossible. The Monegasque’s race was clean, consistent, and error-free. However, Frédéric Vasseur expressed disappointment with the car’s balance seen during free practice, which had raised expectations for more.
Double pit stop in Monaco – Frédéric Vasseur unconvinced
“Congratulations on the second place. It seemed impossible to come here and be competitive after Imola. Based on what we saw in free practice, we expected better. Lewis’s penalties didn’t help us. With Leclerc, we could only match Norris’s pace, but overtaking him was difficult.”
The French team principal targeted the management of pit stops. On a weekend where the mandatory double stop made strategy particularly delicate, Frédéric Vasseur voiced concerns about certain behaviors in the pit lane from other teams.
“For me, this whole pit stop situation is complicated. It’s hard to talk about it, but it seemed to me there were too many strange tricks going on, and some drivers got stuck. We’ll talk to the FIA to understand how to handle this issue better.”
Lewis Hamilton’s race was compromised by a penalty received earlier in the weekend, but also by traffic problems that neutralized his strong early pace. According to Frédéric Vasseur, without these setbacks, the British driver could have fought for the podium.
“Lewis had very strong pace until lap 30/35, then traffic held him back a lot and he couldn’t keep up with the frontrunners. That’s where he completely lost his race pace. Only the penalty ruined his weekend, nothing else.”
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