Ferrari, Frederic Vasseur absolves Carlos Sainz: “Difficult conditions”

A hot and still partial analysis, but with a clear absolution.

Frederic Vasseur does not blame Carlos Sainz for the long run at Mirabeu that came during the Monaco Grand Prix, when heavy rain had already fallen on Monte-Carlo and the Spaniard was waiting until he could mount wet tires. The off-track excursion then forced him to end the race in eighth place.

“It’s hard to get a clear picture of what happened on the track,” Vasseur admitted to ‘Sky Sports’ microphones. The race was chaotic, but I think in the first stint our pace was good. Sainz tried to push a couple of times on Ocon, but he got stuck behind him. There was no chance to overtake, with the rain coming then we decided to take a risk. We were fifth and sixth, and by doing that there was a chance to get third place.”

Ferrari’s team principal then addressed Sainz’s mistake, which he felt was not serious. “The conditions were very difficult to manage. The weather forecast was not that bad for anyone, so we cannot blame Carlos for what happened. There were several accidents, even Russell went out,” Vasseur recalled.

Maranello’s concentration now already shifts to the next Spanish Grand Prix. “We will return to a normal track, and in Barcelona we want to repeat the progress we have already seen in qualifying and on the pace,” explained Vasseur. “We will bring some updates to the car, hopefully they will give us something more in terms of performance.