Fred Vasseur reacts to unexpected front row for Charles Leclerc in Miami Sprint Qualifying

Ferrari finished Sprint Qualifying with an unexpected front row from Charles Leclerc and the fifth-fastest time from Carlos Sainz. This was surprising, considering that the Monegasque had almost entirely missed the first and only free practice session due to his mistake.

The Ferrari SF-24 car performed well with the Soft tires, proving to be the main rival to Red Bull after not being as convincing on the Medium tires used in both Q1 and Q2.

At the end of Sprint Qualifying, Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur spoke to Sky Sport F1 to comment on the session, expressing satisfaction with the afternoon’s results in Miami.

“We’ve already seen in the last race how performances and results can change from one session to another when different tires are used. But this time it was a matter of a few tenths. I think Norris made a mistake, but sometimes a little is enough to move from second to fourth or fifth place. I think Charles Leclerc improved lap by lap, despite hardly driving this morning in free practice. For us, it was a good session.”

During Free Practice 1, few really tried long runs to simulate the situation teams will find tomorrow in the Sprint Race and the Sunday race. What is certain is that Ferrari focused more on preparing for the traditional race, and the Sprint will serve as a test bed.

“It’s hard to have a clear picture for tomorrow’s Sprint and Sunday’s race. We haven’t done long stints with the Medium and Soft tires. We’ve prepared more for Sunday’s long runs, but we must take the Sprint as good preparation for Sunday’s race. Of course, if we have the opportunity to score good points, it’s good to take them.” – he pointed out.

Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!

“However, I’m happy with the work done today. We didn’t expect the front row from Charles. Whereas Carlos, up until the last corner, matched Charles’ time, so we are in a good position with the Softs. Now we’ll have to see tomorrow how we perform in the longer stints. I believe we will have more aerodynamic load and drag compared to others. Leclerc was a bit surprised today in the first corners with the Softs. He hadn’t tried them this morning. In the end, it’s about hundredths of a second lost, but overall, I’d say today was a good session for us. Now we need to focus on tomorrow, make a good start and then see what the situation will be with tire degradation.”

When inevitably asked for a comment about the rumors of Adrian Newey being close to a deal with Ferrari, Fred Vasseur elegantly avoided commenting, leaving no clue about the future of the British designer: “I don’t want to comment, I don’t want to speculate about it. He will leave Red Bull, and we focus on ourselves,” concluded the French manager at the end of the Sprint Qualifying session at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida.

Fred Vasseur, Ferrari