Fred Vasseur insists Lewis Hamilton would have won the Spanish GP without the VSC benefit. Frederic Vasseur confident Ferrari would have won Barcelona GP even without VSC.

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur is convinced that Lewis Hamilton would have won the Barcelona Grand Prix even without the timely Virtual Safety Car that allowed the British driver to make what many described as a “free” pit stop.

The Ferrari boss has no doubts

Ferrari is back on the top step of the podium. Frederic Vasseur had not celebrated a race victory since the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix, but on the seventh attempt of the 2026 Formula 1 season, the Scuderia finally returned to winning ways thanks to Lewis Hamilton.

Before the start of the Barcelona weekend, the Frenchman had confidently stated that Ferrari was capable of winning races this year, and the result on track immediately backed up that belief. The SF-26 showed impressive pace throughout the event, allowing Hamilton to secure his first victory in Ferrari colours.

However, the French manager was quick to stress that Ferrari must avoid getting carried away by a single success. According to the Ferrari team principal, the biggest mistake would be to immediately start thinking about the world championship simply because the team has finally broken through for a victory.

The French manager is particularly keen to avoid the kind of negative backlash Ferrari experienced after Charles Leclerc’s emotional triumph in Monaco in 2024, when expectations rapidly escalated and subsequent results failed to match the growing optimism.

Some observers suggested that the outcome of the race could have been different without the Virtual Safety Car period, which allowed Lewis Hamilton to pit without surrendering the race lead. Vasseur, however, completely disagreed with that interpretation.

“We would have won the race, perhaps by a slightly smaller margin, but at that point we were still in a strong position thanks to a set of new tyres,” Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur said during the post-race press conference.

“The Virtual Safety Car was beneficial for us, but we would have won even without it.”

Fred Vasseur’s comments underline Ferrari’s confidence in the race pace displayed at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. While the Virtual Safety Car certainly helped maximize Hamilton’s advantage, the Ferrari boss believes the Scuderia already had the necessary tools to control the race and secure victory through tyre strategy and overall performance.