Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur has stressed the side will continue to adopt the “same approach” despite enduring a torrid weekend in Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix.
The squad’s victorious weekend in Monaco where the SF-24 emerged as the best-equipped car to ride the bumps and kerbs nominated it as the favourite in Montreal.
However, Ferrari struggled with tyre temperature and slumped to a double Q2 elimination, while various problems contributed to both drivers failing to reach the finish.
Charles Leclerc’s prospects were hampered from the second lap as a developing engine issue was costing him up to a second per lap at some stages during the race.
Leclerc could execute a complete reset during a pit stop to eliminate the gremlin, but a premature gamble on slicks meant he ended up one lap down and then retired.
Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz had sustained a subdued outing but was beginning to extract more pace as the track dried when he spun at Turn 6 and collected Alex Albon.
Vasseur pondered whether Ferrari’s nightmare showing at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve represented the worst since he replaced Mattia Binotto at the helm in late 2022.
“It was not the best one,” Vasseur admitted. “The most difficult, I don’t know that. But, for sure, it was not the best one.”
Ferrari’s win and double podium in Monaco had seen it close to 24 points behind Red Bull, but Max Verstappen’s return to the top step has more than doubled the gap.
Vasseur has insisted the Italian marque will encounter more setbacks, but he’s underlined the importance of not allowing that to impact the team’s working practices.
“You know that sometimes the feeling [is] that everything is going wrong and everything is going against you, but that won’t change the approach,” he explained.
“We are working as a team with the drivers, that [is] in the good and the bad moments, and we will keep the same approach for next weekend.
“We continue to work together but I’m not scared of this kind of weekend but like it is and it’s racing.”
The Maranello-based squad will head to the next round at the Spanish Grand Prix trailing Red Bull by 49 points, with McLaren now 40 points further back in third place.
Discussion about this post