Frederic Vasseur comments on Ferrari’s race: Leclerc scores a brilliant third, while Hamilton finishes seventh
In Saudi Arabia, Ferrari secured its first podium of the season after four races without a top-three finish. Credit goes to Charles Leclerc, who delivered an outstanding drive on all fronts, clinching third place after a late battle with Norris. It’s a result that brings confidence to both the Monegasque driver and the Ferrari camp, while Lewis Hamilton could do no better than a disappointing seventh place.
Frederic Vasseur, speaking to Sky Sport Italia, had this to say about Ferrari’s race: “It’s clear that if we weren’t one or two steps ahead today, it’s because of qualifying. In the race, our pace was very competitive. Charles was really strong. He managed the tyres well in the first 10 laps because he was in dirty air and knew he had to extend the stint. Then on the hards, he matched the pace of the McLarens. But as we’ve said, we need to improve in qualifying—be more consistent across the whole weekend and start from better positions.”
On Leclerc’s race, he added: “It’s not about saving the day—we need to work as a team to continue developing and improving. We have weaknesses, especially in single-lap performance, while in the race we tend to be stronger. We need to do a better job on Saturdays. It’s a team effort, not one person rescuing the rest. We’re all in the same boat.”
A different story for Hamilton, who finished seventh and trailed Leclerc by 30 seconds. Vasseur commented: “It was more difficult for him—30 seconds behind Charles. He struggled at the end. His second stint was decent, but he had trouble in dirty air. He’s experiencing too many ups and downs, both he and the team. We need to be more consistent and do a better job even in FP3 to prepare for qualifying. That’s the main issue. We need to be on point in every session—not just the race or qualifying.”
While McLaren already seems out of reach in the Constructors’ standings, Vasseur prefers to focus on a race-by-race approach, with the next stop being Miami. “I’m thinking about Miami. I think it’s a mistake to think about the championship now. We have to do what we did last year—go race by race to improve. We know the car has weaknesses, that’s clear. We need to be honest in our analysis. We have a pretty clear idea of what to do. Miami will be tricky—it’s a Sprint weekend, so we’ll only have one free practice session. Probably, we’ll bring updates in Imola.”
Vasseur also offered a detailed analysis of the SF-25’s behavior: “I’m not sure that’s really the issue, because today we were very consistent in all types of corners. Yesterday we struggled a lot in Turns 1 and 2, but today we were the fastest. We need to talk to our drivers to understand what changed between the two days. Honestly, the pace was strong throughout the lap. Tyre preparation and management also play a role in the difficulties during qualifying laps.”
“It always comes down to a combination of factors—not just one thing. When you’re three-tenths off, it’s not just one issue; it’s a series of things. Performance comes from several elements, and we need to chase every hundredth of a second in every area—just like we did last year. We were far off at the start of last season too, but we managed to recover. This podium will help push us forward.”
