Vasseur criticizes Ferrari’s overheating and lift and coast problems after Singapore GP
Frederic Vasseur appeared notably more severe than usual during the post-race press conference in Singapore. The Ferrari Team Principal openly criticized the overheating issues that have repeatedly plagued the SF-25, which exploded into a major brake problem for Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages at Marina Bay. Solving this will be a top priority for Ferrari if they want to have even a minimal chance of catching Mercedes for second place in the Constructors’ standings.
Lift and coast remains a major issue
When asked about Hamilton’s late-race collapse caused by overheated brakes, Fred Vasseur chose to address the issue in broader terms rather than focusing on a single incident. “We started experiencing overheating not from the first lap, but from the second or third, and we had to do lift and coast,” he explained. “For the drivers, it’s not easy to handle because you have to adjust the braking point every single lap. Clearly, when we pushed for a couple of laps with Lewis, the pace was decent, but you can’t spend 95% of the race managing the car.”
The Ferrari boss continued his sharp assessment: “When you’re doing lift and coast, the time lost isn’t just at the end of the straight. You also have to find the right braking point every lap. Throughout the race, it changes constantly — sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less, sometimes more at the rear or at the front — because you also need to adjust the brake balance. In the end, you probably lose more because of changing references than from the car’s pure performance potential.”
A frustrating situation for Ferrari
Fred Vasseur’s analysis was particularly direct when discussing Hamilton’s late fastest lap. “He fitted a set of soft tyres at the end. For me, that lap doesn’t mean much — we weren’t in the same conditions,” Fred Vasseur said. “What I can say is that when he pushed, the pace was there, and the gap to the cars ahead was consistent with the tyre difference, but nothing more. It’s frustrating for us because we feel that if we could have done three consecutive laps without managing, the pace wouldn’t have been bad.”
Fred Vasseur went on to express his frustration at Ferrari’s inability to extract the maximum performance from the SF-25 during weekends that start well. “What’s really nerve-wracking is that both in Baku and Singapore, our pace early in the weekend was good, but we couldn’t make the most of the car,” he admitted. “We’re struggling a lot to manage throughout the race, and it’s frustrating for the team because we’re not pushing. We’re making a big effort to stay competitive, but when you have to manage for the entire race, that’s not a good sign.”
Priorities set for Austin
The Ferrari Team Principal made it clear that fixing the lift and coast issue must be the team’s top priority if they want to keep fighting Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship. “If we don’t manage to solve these problems, there’s no way to fight. We absolutely have to fix the issue before next week. The two things go hand in hand,” Fred Vasseur stated.
He then compared Ferrari’s situation to that of McLaren, jokingly acknowledging that team principal Andrea Stella has “rich people problems” by having to manage a rivalry between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. “We all have our problems,” Vasseur said. “I think that’s a nice problem to have when you’re first and second in the championship. It’s a great situation to be in. It’s not a drama — what do you expect? The drivers are leading the championship and doing their job. It’s not up to the team to decide every single weekend.”
As Ferrari prepares for the next round in Austin, solving the persistent overheating and braking management issues has become an urgent priority for Fred Vasseur and his engineers. Without a clear fix, the team’s ambitions of closing the gap to Mercedes risk fading away in the final stretch of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
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