F1 | Vasseur: “Here’s what went wrong in the Sprint Race”

Ferrari was betting heavily on the Sprint Race at Spa-Francorchamps, especially after getting the entire second row in this morning’s Sprint Shootout. Instead she faced yet another disappointing day of her season.

Both SF-23s, those entrusted to Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc, were held back by the two pit stops, made impeccably for both drivers but very slow results due to the traffic in the fast lane in the most chaotic moment of the 11 laps played.

At the end of the Sprint Race, the Ferrari team principal, Frédéric Vasseur, tried to analyze the short race on the microphones of Sky Sport, without forgetting that tomorrow the Ferrari will have another opportunity to redeem this bitter day.

What happened in Sainz and Leclerc’s pit stops?
“I start from Carlos. We were close to the entrance to the pit lane and it was complicated to get him back to the fast lane. We followed the procedure [lasciando passare le monoposto in transito] and we lost a lot of positions in that phase and it went the way it went”.

“As far as Leclerc is concerned, we had the Mercedes coming in while he was about to go out. We certainly lost some positions, but I think it was all determined by the traffic in the pits. On the track, our positions stabilized and it was very difficult to overcome”.

“Now we have to focus on tomorrow. We scored more points than Mercedes and Aston Martin today, and this is very important for us. We have a good opportunity starting from first and fourth positions tomorrow.”

How important was the Sprint Race to have good data for tomorrow’s race?
“As we have seen since the beginning of the weekend, the weather conditions change so rapidly that it is difficult to collect data. The forecast for tomorrow is more towards a dry track, but nothing can be learned from today, it was too chaotic a race “.

It seemed that Sainz could put more pressure on the drivers ahead of him than Leclerc. Overheating problems?
“I think all 20 riders had overheating problems. In the end, the track wasn’t that far from dry conditions, but the race was too short. If we had pitted with 2 laps to go to put on slicks, we would have lost 20 seconds and in any case it would have been impossible to overtake and recover. So it was a matter of managing the tire temperatures. in some moments they could push, in others not”.

What can be the key to having a good race tomorrow?
“I don’t want to focus on Max, we have to focus on us to get the best possible result. From the beginning of the weekend the pace has been good in all conditions, with all tyres. We just have to focus on ourselves, on doing have a good strategy, have a good pace, start well and have a good pace. At that point, if we can do it, I’m sure we will bring home a good result.”