The big surprise at Monza, unfortunately for the Italian fans, was not Ferrari but Red Bull. After Max Verstappen secured pole position, the race turned into total domination, with the Dutchman finishing more than 20 seconds ahead of the two McLaren cars. A performance that even seemed unexpected by the Anglo-Austrian team itself. “It’s not the first time they said they wouldn’t be competitive and then performed strongly. Last year they struggled, but already from Friday it was clear they were going to be fast,” commented Frederic Vasseur after the race. “Max was incredible.”
No regrets about the aggressive approach and the choice of setup, but the team expected more tyre degradation
During the press conference, Frederic Vasseur was asked to give a quick briefing on some aspects of the weekend. “Tomorrow we will analyse everything and see if we could have done something different,” he said, while not hiding his disappointment at missing out on a podium or at least a stronger result overall. “It’s a shame not to have been able to finish on the podium, especially to give our fans something to celebrate. When you look at the main straight and the pitlane like that, it’s something magical. I’m disappointed,” admitted the Ferrari Team Principal. The Scuderia fell short of the podium, but Vasseur insisted there were no regrets about the aggressive strategy or the decision to run a very low-downforce setup. “In terms of downforce there wasn’t a huge difference between the options available in terms of overall performance, it was just a question of deciding where you wanted to be quick.”
Fred Vasseur revealed there was frustration about missing out on the front row and about a better qualifying result by just a few hundredths, while in the race the podium was only a few seconds away. “What surprised everyone was the low tyre degradation in the race, because everybody expected more. Verstappen, for example, kept two sets of Hard tyres for the race. If they had been certain about such low degradation, they would have kept more Softs. Last year the asphalt was new, and that makes a big difference, making predictions difficult.” According to the Frenchman, whatever other decisions Ferrari could have made, the result would hardly have been different, even during the race itself. “Charles managed to overtake Piastri once or twice, but that overheated the tyres and we paid the price in the following laps. Managing it differently, I don’t think it would have changed the final result.” The positive side, as Vasseur highlighted, was the smaller gap to McLaren, “the smallest of the season,” and a pace overall stronger than Mercedes. “We did a good job, but it’s not enough.” The Team Principal confirmed that Ferrari will not bring any more updates. “We are focused on 2026, but that applies to everyone,” he added, but stressed this does not mean there will not be other opportunities to win, with a clear main objective in mind. “There are tracks where we could be strong, like Baku, and we will have chances to fight for victory, but the main goal remains finishing P2 in the Constructors’ Championship.”
Lewis Hamilton’s progress and a strategy that, in hindsight, would have been different
We often hear – as was the case at Monza with the slipstream issue in qualifying – that the views of the Team Principal and the drivers are not always fully aligned. Regarding the race, however, Frederic Vasseur confirmed a point that seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton had also emphasised about strategy. “Looking back, we definitely would have done things differently and stopped Lewis a bit earlier than George to try the overcut,” admitted the Frenchman. Still, the performance of the British driver was a positive element. “Lewis started further back and managed to recover ground on George. He had a good pace, which allowed us to extend the first stint and aim for a tyre advantage at the end, but it didn’t work out because degradation was much lower than expected.”
According to the Team Principal, the support from the fans towards the former Mercedes driver is a boost that will help him throughout the season, and it certainly played a role, although he believes Hamilton’s progress had already started before Monza. “Honestly, I think we already saw progress at Zandvoort, even if the final result made it hard to see. The pace was strong, and the mood was positive. He came back in a better condition after the summer break, and here, while maybe not expecting such a warm reception, it was something special. Monza became complicated right away with the penalty, but overall it was still a positive weekend.” Vasseur repeated several times how much the fans’ affection increased the regret of missing the podium, stressing how important that energy is for the whole team. Regarding Hamilton’s progress, though, he was confident: “In these last two races he has fought with George and been near the top, so I expect Lewis to be battling for podiums.”
Fred Vasseur addresses rumours about new Power Units and ongoing talks with F1 and FIA
At the end of the press conference, Frederic Vasseur was also asked about the future of Formula 1, not only in view of 2026, but already regarding the upcoming regulatory cycle. There is much discussion about the future engines, with some proposals already circulating to modify the regulations that will come into effect next year. “Compared to the timing of the last regulation change, we are ahead of schedule. I think finding an agreement on a common project to develop together is possible, but there is time. Today everyone is focused on 2026, and even if the rules were decided tomorrow, no one would start working on them immediately. We still have time to make the best possible decision and to find agreement among all the parties involved: the teams, Formula 1, and the FIA.”
