“It’s not over until it’s over.” Frédéric Vasseur looks on the bright side after the Qatar Grand Prix qualifying, focusing on the minimal gap between the Ferraris and the McLaren cars.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri performed better than Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, but Ferrari showed progress compared to yesterday’s Sprint Qualifying. After the official session in Lusail, Ferrari’s team principal spoke to Sky Sport Italia to reflect on the results and share his expectations for tomorrow’s main race.
Did you set up the cars more with today’s qualifying or tomorrow’s race in mind?
“Everyone tries to get the best out of the setup. It’s not easy to choose a clear direction between the Sprint and Qualifying. It was a matter of tire management. The preparation lap was quite extreme due to track temperatures. That’s why we saw such differences in times. Tomorrow, however, will be a different story. This isn’t the result we expected, even if we’re just a tenth behind McLaren. We’ll keep pushing because tomorrow we will have good opportunities.”
You’re very close to McLaren. What kind of race are you expecting?
“We know we must finish ahead of McLaren to keep the pressure on them and keep the fight for the Constructors’ Championship alive. We need to do our best, focusing on ourselves. We have to stay calm and avoid getting carried away. Tomorrow’s race will be very different from today’s Sprint. We’ll need to get the most out of the package we have.”
You have one new set of Hard tires compared to your rivals. Could this influence your strategy?
“The primary option is a one-stop strategy. If a second stop becomes necessary, perhaps due to a Safety Car, having a Medium tire is an advantage. It’s difficult to predict.”
Will Turn 1 be a key opportunity to overtake McLaren?
“We must avoid doing anything foolish. If we want to achieve our goal, it’s essential to finish the race with both cars. I believe we’ll have the opportunity to keep them under pressure throughout the race until the end. So, we’ll need to maintain a good approach—nothing more than that.”
