Team principal Fred Vasseur has shared his insights into the great recovery drives Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc pulled off at the F1 Imola GP on Sunday after both Ferrari drivers suffered disappointing Q2 exits in qualifying on Saturday.
Lining up in twelfth on the grid, Hamilton opted for the alternative strategy and started the race on the hard compound tyres. Pitting under both the Virtual Safety Car on lap 29 and the Safety Car on lap 46, the British driver demonstrated solid pace in the latter half of the race and recovered a lot of positions. He ultimately crossed the line in fourth place, only 1.4 seconds away from a podium finish.
Meanwhile, cutting his first stint on the medium tyres short, Ferrari pitted Leclerc on lap 10 to bolt on a fresh set of hards. Successfully undercutting several cars and showing impressive pace in clean air, he managed to climb up to eighth place.
However, the Monégasque’s charge was short-lived, and both the VSC and the SC interventions nullified his advantage. Despite putting up a great defence against Alex Albon on worn-out hard tyres in the closing stages of Sunday’s race, he gave the position back to the Williams driver to avoid a potential penalty and took the chequered flag in sixth place.
Vasseur rues Ferrari’s struggles in qualifying and admits Leclerc was unlucky
Speaking in a print media session after the race, Fred Vasseur noted how it has been a recurring trend in recent race weekends that the SF-25 fares significantly better over race distance than over a single lap. Commending the pit wall and the pit crew for executing their responsibilities well, he highlighted their satisfactory turnaround after a difficult Saturday.
“You could say that we were worse yesterday. It’s clear that it’s like this the last two or three events.
“I think the pace today was good. We were much [closer to] the leader probably. You could say that we had to push on the tyres a lot at the beginning of the race. The issue is that we were much lower in quali yesterday. Then we start from P11, P12.
“The weekend is difficult, but the recovery is good. I think today was a good race. There was a very good strategy, well executed, good pit stops. Everything went well.”
Acknowledging that the timing of the Safety Car adversely impacted Leclerc’s progress at the F1 Imola GP, Vasseur reiterated that it’s imperative for Ferrari to take a big step forward in qualifying to bring home better results on Sundays.
“I think Charles [Leclerc] was a bit unlucky with the timing of the Safety Car, but there was nothing that we could do.
“In the end, we have just to improve on the quali pace. When you start at P11 and P12, it’s much more difficult.”
Two-stop strategy was not pre-planned
In terms of Leclerc extracting the most from the Pirelli rubber in the first half of the race and whether it was a predetermined strategy to opt for two stops at the F1 Imola GP, Fred Vasseur clarified that Ferrari adjusted the strategy according to the circumstances on track.
Referring to the Monégasque’s early stop on lap 10, the Frenchman admitted that it would’ve been a daunting task to make the hard tyres last over 50 laps.
“No, I don’t have the number of laps in mind now because we adapted the strategy to the circumstances.
“But if we did something like lap 9 or 10, it would’ve been too ambitious to do 51 or 52 laps with the hard compound.”
Vasseur irked by media’s fixation with Hamilton’s results at Ferrari
With regard to the scrutiny Hamilton has faced after struggling to adapt to the Ferrari single-seater and how important it was for him to nearly finish on the podium at the F1 Imola GP, Fred Vasseur immediately shut down this line of questioning.
The Frenchman clearly sounded unimpressed that the media have blown every single outcome out of proportion this season. Remarking how Hamilton’s P4 finish didn’t automatically resolve their shortcomings, he added that the Brit struggling during a particular weekend doesn’t spell disaster for the Scuderia either.
Complimenting the team’s overall efforts on their home soil, Vasseur emphasised how important it is for the drivers, the strategists, and the mechanics to work together and push Ferrari forward.
“It’s not for Lewis [Hamilton]. We have to stop this. It’s not that when he’s doing a good weekend, everything is perfect. When he’s doing not a good weekend, everything is a disaster.
“We just have to take it easy and stay calm, work together. I’m very pleased with the job done by everybody on the team today.
“It’s not especially Lewis. I think Charles did a good job. The strategists did a very good job. The mechanics did a good job.
“It’s the only way for us to come back and catch up with the front. We have to work as a team and put all our efforts and resources together to catch up.”
Hamilton’s progress is gradual
In respect of how well Hamilton is adapting to life at Ferrari and what factors contribute to his progress, Fred Vasseur maintained that every single driver attempts to put their best foot forward during a race weekend.
Commending his performance in Shanghai and Sunday’s race in Imola, the 56-year-old noted that Hamilton’s progress is gradual and that he never expected the Brit to come out swinging from the first race weekend of the year. Insisting on a collected approach, he added that they need to improve their communication and other frameworks that impact his performance on track.
“We have to stop. Every single driver is working on himself, working with the team, trying to develop something, trying to do a better job.
“And it’s not that the Saturday evening he’s not well prepared, not in good condition with the car, and Sunday he’s a magician, and everything is perfect. We just have to stay calm.
“For sure, we need to improve the communication. For him, on the understanding of the process, the tools, the software, and everything.
“But honestly, he did a very good job in China. He did a very good job today. Step by step, we will be there. I’m very convinced that we’re going to see him perform next week. And I never thought that in two or three weekends he will be there. Charles also is improving weekend after weekend.”
Vasseur believes pit wall and Leclerc made the right decision together
Asked to address Ferrari’s reluctance to pit Leclerc for soft tyres during the final Safety Car period at the F1 Imola GP, Fred Vasseur explained that the soft compound was their only option with no fresh mediums remaining. He stated that with a considerable number of laps to go, the C6 compound, which made its debut in Imola, would’ve been a risky choice.
Furthermore, elaborating that Leclerc understood the drawbacks of pitting behind Hamilton and losing more time, Vasseur insisted that the pit wall and the driver ultimately made the right call together.
“The Safety Car was something like 13, 14 laps before the end. And we didn’t know how many laps we’ll stay [under] it.
“We didn’t have medium anymore. It was either to pit for soft or nothing. And soft was really on the edge.
“We were on the pit wall. We were not sure when we started to communicate with Charles. At one stage, he understood that he would be on the edge.
“And I think it was a good call from Charles. Because when he saw that Lewis will pit, it’s okay that ‘if I pit just behind Lewis, I will lose an extra five seconds and probably a position’. Because we told him that Sainz was in the window of the pit stop.
“I think it was the perfect call. Well managed between the pit wall and Charles.
“And I spoke with Charles. I said, ‘okay, if we redo the race now, we pit for soft’. We did eight or nine laps at the end. It’s really on the edge to survive with nine laps in the soft. We can have a very good start at the restart after the Safety Car. In the end, the stint would’ve been more than needed.”
