The Ferrari team principal chose not to impose team orders during the second race of the season, allowing his drivers to fight on track: “I think it was the right decision to let them battle, because it was a great fight. It was good for the team, for Formula 1 and for the fans.” As for the SF-26, working only on the engine will not be enough to catch the Mercedes W17.
The victory in China went to Andrea Kimi Antonelli, but the real spectacle in Shanghai was delivered by Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc fought intensely, exchanging overtakes that were right on the limit but always fair. It was a heated contest that ignited at several moments during the race and that, perhaps, allowed the Mercedes drivers to pull away at the front.
Frédéric Vasseur is fully aware of Mercedes’ superiority, considering that the gap for the SF-26 at the finish was around 25 seconds. However, for the moment the Ferrari team principal is enjoying Lewis Hamilton’s first podium finish with the Scuderia. Fred Vasseur even smiled when asked whether the fight between his two drivers had perhaps been a little too intense.
“No, it wasn’t too much,” Fred admitted. “I think everything was under control. Of course you are always a little worried because something can always happen, but it’s also very difficult to freeze the positions on track. They were very professional and I enjoyed it.”
“We were doing a good job and you could never really know what might happen at the end of the race, so I think it was the right decision to let them battle, because I believe it was a great fight. It was great for the team, for Formula 1 and for the fans. That’s why I prefer letting them race rather than freezing the positions.”
Mercedes currently appears stronger with the internal combustion engine, while Ferrari in the second half of the race — especially on the hard tyres — did not quite have the same pace as the W17.
“Yes, that’s true. Overall they were faster than us. Depending on the session the gap has always been around three, four or five tenths. When we go into overtake mode and we are within one second we can maybe resist by pushing a little more on the tyres than they do. But when they have clear track and are running in clean air we are a few tenths slower than them. We saw that again today.” – the French manager pointed out at the end of the Chinese Grand Prix.
The difference seems particularly visible on the straights.
“They have a clear advantage on the straights and we have to work on that aspect. We know exactly what we need to do. We have to keep pushing in every single area of development, but this is the current situation.”
Could this race represent a turning point for Ferrari’s season?
“No, I don’t think we should expect too much from the new directive. But we also need to understand when we will have the opportunity to work on the engine and we expect a lot from that. At the same time we know that we cannot work only on the engine, because we will have to improve everywhere. There is no magic wand that can fix the car instantly.”
Where can the performance be improved?
“We have to work on every detail: tyre management, aerodynamics, chassis, suspension, everything. We must keep this mentality if we want to continue improving. So far we have been ahead of McLaren and Red Bull, but they will push and react as well.” – Fred Vasseur added.
Fred, what has changed in Lewis?
“I think it helps that he is closer to us now, that he knows everyone inside the team and that he has been part of the project from day one. He worked on development in the simulator six months ago, so the situation is very different compared to a year ago. But I don’t want to say that this is Lewis’ car or Charles’ car — it is the team’s car. What I can say is that Lewis has improved his relationship with every member of the team, and I think that is the right direction for him.”
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