Fred Vasseur remains grounded after Ferrari’s British GP success: “Let’s focus on Spa”

Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur has urged everyone to stay grounded despite the Scuderia’s impressive victory at the British Grand Prix, insisting that it is far too early to start talking about the Formula 1 world championship.

Ferrari delivers at Silverstone

“Even if we get ahead of the Mercedes cars at the start, they’ll disappear over the race distance,” Lewis Hamilton had predicted after qualifying at Silverstone. But when the lights went out on Sunday, Ferrari seized control of the race, and Hamilton’s forecast never came true.

Only Andrea Kimi Antonelli appeared capable of challenging for victory. Even then, his chance would likely have come only in the closing stages, as Charles Leclerc was exceptionally quick throughout the opening stint.

Without Lewis Hamilton’s penalty for a false start and Ferrari’s conservative strategy call to bring him into the pits for a tyre change, the Scuderia might even have celebrated a one-two finish. Instead, George Russell inherited second place after a largely uneventful afternoon in which fortune played more than a small part.

Vasseur keeps Ferrari’s feet on the ground

Despite Ferrari’s dominant display, Frédéric Vasseur made it clear that he does not want expectations to spiral following the team’s breakthrough result: “Ferrari title contenders? Let’s not start with that. Let’s enjoy tonight, then we have to work for Spa. We’ll take it one race at a time,” the French manager told Sky’s Davide Camicioli.

The Ferrari team principal also admitted that Mercedes still had the faster car in Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s hands, believing the young Italian would have provided Charles Leclerc with a formidable challenge for victory.

“We were quicker than Russell, but Antonelli was quicker than us,” Fred Vasseur added. “I think it would have been a great battle with Leclerc, but Kimi was faster.”

Despite the joy of a hard-earned victory at the British Grand Prix, Frédéric Vasseur maintains a cautious outlook, emphasizing that the team’s championship focus is currently fixed solely on the upcoming challenge in Spa.