Ferrari in Trouble, Vasseur: “I Would Have Done Everything Differently”
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur spoke with Automoto.it to offer an initial assessment of the Scuderia’s season, analyzing the current situation with bitterness: “In hindsight, I would have done practically everything differently this year,” he admitted.
The key problem this season has been the engine: “When it comes to the chassis, if the design is a disaster, you can start from scratch for the following year. Doing that with the engine—given the homologation cycle and the budget cap—isn’t something you can do right away. These are multi-year projects. We hope to get back on track next year, but from the outside, people don’t realize how difficult it is to change course. It’s like trying to turn a large ship. The infrastructure is there, though.”
“We’ve known for years that we were lagging behind the competition in terms of the engine, and that the first year of the new regulations would be difficult. It would be a mistake to attribute performance to a single factor. With performance levels on the track as close as they are today, every detail makes a substantial difference. Not in terms of lap time, but in terms of position. And it’s getting harder and harder to pass. At the start of the season, we were a bit off in terms of power delivery, but we’ve improved. Focusing on a single area would be a mistake. The message from the factory is clear. When you’re a bit behind in terms of the chassis, you can always hope to catch up with updates. When you’re struggling with the engine, you know it’s going to be that way for the entire season. But we’ve never given up. We’ll keep pushing to shave off another tenth.”
Hamilton and Leclerc’s struggles: “The drivers have spent the last twenty years of their lives knowing they had to hit the throttle first, and suddenly that wasn’t the case anymore. I don’t mean to say it’s no longer the same sport, but sometimes I think the scale of the challenge is underestimated. After the tough stretch between Miami and Barcelona, Charles made a good recovery. I admit we underestimated the challenge he faced by joining a completely different team. It’s not just a matter of language or software. Even the steering wheel and the terminology are different. There are so many things to take in that you end up leaving something on the table in terms of performance. If the on-track performance is close, it can make a substantial difference in terms of position. And that’s what matters to the driver.”
