The words of Frederic Vasseur at the end of the qualifying session for the Qatar Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc in fifth and Carlos Sainz in seventh.
Ferrari was unable to achieve its goal of securing a spot in the top two rows in the Qatar GP qualifying. Charles Leclerc qualified in fifth position, and Carlos Sainz in seventh, with the two Ferraris starting behind the two McLarens, with Norris in third and Piastri in fourth. The competition is very tight, and the feeling is that tire management will be crucial in the race.
To this end, Team Principal Frederic Vasseur spoke out. Here are the Frenchman’s statements: “It’s not over until we’ve tackled the last corner of the last race. Everyone is trying to optimize the setup as much as possible, but you can’t focus solely on qualifying or only on the race. It’s been a matter of tire management and how they were prepared. The time differences from one lap to the next were significant, but tomorrow will be a completely different story.”
There’s a slight sense of disappointment regarding the qualifying result, but Vasseur believes there will be opportunities in the race: “Obviously, it’s not the result we wanted: we’re a tenth behind McLaren, but we’re also determined to push in the race because we’ll have opportunities. We know how important it is to stay ahead of them to apply pressure and keep the championship fight alive. We need to give our best, but stay focused on ourselves and not overdo it. The race will be long and completely different from the Sprint, so it will be crucial to make the most of the package we have.
As for the strategies, we’re starting with two sets of mediums and one set of hards, while the first option for everyone seems to be a single pit stop. Having a backup plan, maybe taking advantage of a Safety Car, could make having a set of softs useful. Risking at the start? Well, I certainly won’t, the drivers are the ones racing! But it’s essential to avoid mistakes: if we want to achieve our goals, both cars need to finish the two races. We’ll keep this approach: pragmatic, but effective.”
