The Dutch Grand Prix of Formula 1 has highlighted some limitations of Ferrari, despite the team director, Fred Vasseur, believing that their competitive pace was superior to Mercedes. In a race where Ferrari’s drivers failed to maximize their potential, Vasseur points out the need to improve in qualifying sessions.
Drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished just behind George Russell, but the difficulty in qualifying in the front rows notably hurt them. Vasseur stated that the lack of good performance in qualifying limited Ferrari’s options during the race, despite the fact that their car’s pace was “stronger than that of Mercedes”.
One of the critical points was Leclerc’s slow launch at one of the starts, which allowed Oscar Piastri to overtake him. Furthermore, Ferrari suffered a slow pit stop that affected Leclerc’s chances of gaining positions. Vasseur admitted that while the race pace was not the problem, the way the qualifying and race were executed was inadequate.
The head of Ferrari commented: “Speed is not an issue, but the execution of the weekend has not been what we expected”. Referring to qualifying, with Leclerc in third place in the sprint classification, the situation was not entirely negative, but track conditions played a role in the drivers’ inability to achieve adequate tire temperatures during the second qualifying session, results that left them in unfavorable positions.
Looking ahead, Vasseur highlighted the importance of better understanding tire management in qualifying runs, believing that improvements to the vehicle are constant but that the difficulties experienced recently are not representative of their long-term potential. Currently, Ferrari holds second place in the constructors’ championship, with McLaren close behind, after winning the last two races.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
