Second and third row
Fourth and fifth position, just over a tenth from pole position. This is how the Italian GP qualifying ended for Ferrari, which will face its home race tomorrow with Charles Leclerc starting from the second row and Carlos Sainz from the third. A result that perhaps did not inflame the fans’ spirits, but which was certainly seen positively by the red team principal Fred Vasseur. Speaking to the microphones of Sky Sports F1 in fact the Maranello manager underlined how the SF-24’s set-up is more race-oriented and how everything is at stake for the podium positions tomorrow.
Race setup
“The bright side is that we are there – declared the number one of the Cavallino wall – while last week we were 7-8 tenths behind and we managed to recover a bit in the race. Now instead we are already there and the important thing is that the race is long. We have little aerodynamic load and this can be positive for tomorrowbut obviously this makes the car more difficult to drive in these conditions and it is easier to make small mistakes. This is the price we paid, but overall the balance was not entirely wrong. We would have liked to be in the front rowbut that’s okay. When you’re talking about a few cents, a few small details can make a big difference“.
One or two stops?
During the long interview given to the microphones of satellite TV, Vasseur also focused on what will be the tomorrow’s race strategyopening to the possibility of two stops but also underlining how Ferrari does not want to look too much at its opponents, preferring to concentrate on itself. “In Zandvoort we were better than our opponents in degradation and I hope that tomorrow it will be the same. – commented the former Sauber boss – but this will depend on the pace we keep in the opening laps of the race: if we are cautious maybe we will make a stop, but if we push a lot it will be difficult, and I think everyone will push like crazy. Without a doubt when you start from the second row and you are a tenth from pole, anything is possible. We do not have a margin compared to the others to start playing with the strategy. If we push hard we will have to evaluate whether to make the decision for two pit stops.“.
Watch the rankings
Vasseur then made it clear that Don’t consider both championships lost: “Fight between Max and Lando? I don’t care, I’m thinking about us and Ferrari. We are not too far away in both championships, especially in the Constructors’. Nobody can know what will happen, there are still 500 points up for grabs, so everything is open, let’s just focus on ourselves“, he concluded.
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