A disappointed Ferrari team ends Saturday at the 4.361-kilometre Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal with both cars in the sixth row, leaving a bitter feeling especially after a Friday when the Maranello team’s mood was very different. The drivers themselves had spoken of a competitive car in all conditions, both dry and wet, but in the true dry conditions of qualifying, something did not work.
Frederic Vasseur did not hide his disappointment with a qualifying session that did not yield the hoped-for results, not only in terms of positions but also pace, because clearly with two cars out in Q2, it cannot simply be a timing or qualifying management issue.
The choice to start the second session with a new set unlike other rivals did not pay off, as it forced Ferrari to use a used tire in the final part of Q2 when the track was at its best due to the progressive improvement of the asphalt. However, according to the Team Principal, it is not just a matter of a new tire, but generally about tire management.
“It is not the result we expected. We struggled a lot with the tires. Surely, we were not the only ones, but it is no consolation. Russell, for example, took pole position with used tires, and in the end, we could not put everything together. Let’s focus on tomorrow, yesterday the race pace was good, both on dry and wet tires,” Fred Vasseur explained in his interview for Sky.
Clearly, the sets of soft tires are limited, and one of those available can only be used for Q3. This is why Ferrari did not fit a new tire at the end of Q2. Unlike other rivals who chose to keep the new set for the last minutes with potentially better track conditions, Ferrari instead feared the risk of rain, fitting fresh tires at the start of the session.
“We did not change it because the last one was to be used for Q3, we were all in the same situation, due to what happened this morning. Everyone had only one new set in Q2, except Mercedes [who had saved an extra set of softs on Friday, ed.], some decided to fit a new set at the start, others at the end. But we did not have the option to use that second set.”
Fred Vasseur highlighted how Ferrari’s difficulties are more related to tire management, especially with tire warm-up, although a final minutes management that did not yield the hoped-for results did not help. For example, Charles Leclerc did two consecutive push laps, which clearly had a negative effect on the tire, which could not recover before making the last attempt when the track should have been at its best.
The difficulties in warming up the tires are not new for Ferrari this season, and today, on a circuit that does not have many high-speed corners to put energy into the tires, the Maranello team paid the price. Frederic Vasseur believes there are some specific factors, such as pressure management, but it is always a combination of various factors: “It is always a combination between the compound, the asphalt, the track temperature, and the car’s setup. Today, however, we were not in the right place at the right time, due to tire pressure and setup, we need to understand better for the next qualifying sessions. Tomorrow’s race will be another story, because it is about long distance.” – the Frenchman pointed out at the end of the qualifying session for the Canadian Grand Prix.
“Yesterday in the wet we had good pace for the whole lap and it is another story, for sure, much is related to tire pressure and similar things. However, in the race simulation, we were good yesterday with both dry and wet tires, so I think tomorrow will be another story. We struggled to warm up the tires on the flying lap. We need to do a better job on this aspect for the next races,” added the Team Principal.
