At the end of a thrilling and eventful 2025 Spanish Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur expressed satisfaction with Charles Leclerc’s third-place finish, while acknowledging some challenges in managing the medium tyres. The race saw Ferrari return to the podium and reclaim second place in the Constructors’ Championship.
Charles Leclerc, who started from second on the grid, finished third thanks to a solid strategy in the final stages of the race, capitalising on the safety car and opting for soft tyres, which performed better than the mediums used in the middle stint.
“Speaking about the race, a nice podium from P2 to P3 for Charles. The safety car helped a bit, because at one point we were really struggling to get the mediums to work properly.”
Fred Vasseur and the right strategy for Charles Leclerc, but issues for Lewis Hamilton
“I think our race pace was good, but it’s still difficult to understand why we were faster on the softs than on the mediums. That was true for us, but also for nearly everyone.”
“The consistency was better on the softs, as was the pace. In the end, it’s a good podium, because we would have finished fourth without the safety car. Then Max had no softs left, he had to fit the hards, and we took advantage to get on the podium.”
Fred Vasseur then analysed the differences between the two Ferrari drivers. While Charles Leclerc managed to recover and secure a good result, Lewis Hamilton struggled in the final stint, complaining about the car’s balance.
“Charles had a strong recovery, and the strategy was clear even though we expected a bit more from the mediums.” – the French manager explained.
“For Lewis, we had good pace until the final stint, ahead of George Russell if I’m not mistaken. In the last stint, he had difficulties and complained a lot about the balance, which had been fine in the first two stints. There was probably something wrong with the car at that stage.”
Positive outlook for Ferrari, now a new target
The French team principal gave a positive assessment of the European triple-header following Miami: “Overall, this triple-header went quite well for us. We’ve made progress since Miami. Imola and Monaco were tough, but we had a great race today with a nice recovery.”
“I think today we had the pace to qualify higher too. It was a strategic choice to save tyres. I don’t know if it was the right one in the end, but we’re back on the podium and now second in the Constructors’ standings.”
Looking ahead, Fred Vasseur reiterated the importance of continuing to improve in order to close the gap to their direct rivals, staying realistic but determined: “The goal is to do the best job possible, honestly not necessarily to win the championship. Last year we did exactly the same thing.”
“There are still 15 races left, if I’m not mistaken. We need to keep improving, take it step by step to catch up with McLaren, even if they’re really far ahead. Keep pushing to reduce the gap.”
