Fred Vasseur outlines Ferrari plan for Zandvoort: “Race strategy is on the edge”. Ferrari prepares for a comeback at the Dutch Grand Prix.

With qualifying concluded in the Netherlands, Fred Vasseur explains what Ferrari could do in tomorrow’s Grand Prix: the team has prepared a comeback race with the goal of finishing third.

As soon as qualifying ended at Zandvoort, attention shifted to tomorrow’s race. For this reason, Frederic Vasseur outlined how Ferrari is preparing for the Dutch Grand Prix, emphasizing that the situation should be slightly better and setting a clear, realistic objective. Here are the words of the Maranello team principal.

Sixth and seventh place. That’s how Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished the fifteenth qualifying session of 2025. The gap to the leaders is significant: more than half a second behind Oscar Piastri’s McLaren. However, this has become a recurring pattern over many Grands Prix, perhaps even since last season. On Saturdays, Ferrari continues to encounter various problems that seem to disappear during the race.

In fact, even looking at the race pace simulations carried out during FP2, the SF-25 is certainly not at the level of the MCL39, but it is competitive, fighting with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and George Russell’s Mercedes for the final podium spot. Moreover, the situation is not too different from 2024: Leclerc started from the same grid slot and, as you may recall, managed to finish third.

But a broader analysis came from Frederic Vasseur in an interview with SkySportF1. “The points are awarded tomorrow. The race pace looks much better compared to the qualifying simulation. This was one of the worst tracks for us to aim for pole position because it highlights all the limits of our car. It’s not just turns 8, 9, and 10 that are the problem. It all starts earlier, from turns 6 and 7, where we overheat the tires too much and struggle in the final sector. In the race? We are not at McLaren’s level. They manage their tires better, while we will be fighting with Russell and Max for third place. We have to put everything together, and we already have a strategy on the edge planned to battle with them.” – the French manager concluded at the end of the qualifying session for the 2025 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix.