Ferrari, led by Fred Vasseur, had a solid if unspectacular home race at the F1 Italian GP in Monza. Charles Leclerc finished P4, with Lewis Hamilton in 6th. The Brit recovered from a 5-place grid penalty to take home a good result.
Fred Vasseur on tyre overheating troubles for Charles Leclerc in early stages of the F1 Italian GP
It was a very good start for the Scuderia. Charles Leclerc overtook Oscar Piastri into turn 1, before the Australian got him back at Lesmo 1. However, the Monegasque used the top speed advantage he had out of the first chicane to take P3 once again on the second lap.
Unfortunately for the driver and team, however, he struggled a lot with tyre overheating in the early stages. The World Championship leader made his move for P3 on lap 6. Leclerc could not fight back and the top 3 drove away.
Initially even P4 looked difficult, but the pace was superior to George Russell once Leclerc got his tyres back in a good temperature window.
Vasseur explained the difficulties they faced in early stages of the F1 Italian GP.
“It’s very difficult to imagine what would have been the race without this. It’s true that in the fight at the beginning, we were not strangely because he was able to overtake one or two times Piastri, but I think we are not in a good place.
“We overheated massively the tyres and then we paid the price the next 5-6 laps, when Russell was able to follow and the others [were able] to fly [away].
“But it is like it is, I think that we have to think about this. We could have been differently in the opening lap.
Vasseur disappointed Ferrari missed out on the podium but satisfied with performance against McLaren and Mercedes
In front of the Tifosi, Charles Leclerc came up 4.3s short of the podium. Max Verstappen and the McLaren drivers had too much pace for Ferrari at Monza in the Grand Prix. In reality they were quite close to the Woking-based team at the end as Piastri and Norris hung on for soft tyres while hoping for a Safety Car. The actual gap was bigger than 4s.
While disappointed not to give the passionate and loyal Ferrari fans a podium, Vasseur was pleased with their performance against McLaren and Mercedes. He also praised Max Verstappen for his dominance on Sunday.
“But overall I think today that first it’s a shame and I’m disappointed to not be able to bring a podium to the Tifosi because when you see the pit lane and the start and finish line at the podium, it would have been magic and they deserve it.
“But I think we are close to the McLaren today, it’s probably the smallest gap of the season, I think.
“It’s just that Max was outstanding, from quali, from the first lap to the last lap he was there, he was flying and he was much faster than us.
“But overall I think compared to Mercedes and McLaren, we did our job. It’s not enough, but we did our job.”
Vasseur not interested in Red Bull predictions before a race weekend
Asked if he was surprised at Red Bull’s performance in the F1 Italian GP following their biggest low at this venue in 2024 when they finished a massively distant P6 and P8, Vasseur discussed the fact they have said they would struggle before and ultimately came out with great pace.
“Yeah, but I’m not on the social media and I’m not paying attention to the declaration of Red Bull. It’s not the first time that they are expecting to be nowhere and they are able to fight.
“Last year they struggled a lot in Monza. I don’t remember exactly the rest, but I think they were P6 or 7 [P8 with Pérez].
“And the level of performance that they had this weekend, from the beginning of the weekend to the end, was big.”
Ferrari hold a 20-point lead over Mercedes heading to Baku next weekend. Red Bull Racing are 21 behind Mercedes.
