Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has insisted the “pace was there” in Formula 1‘s Singapore Grand Prix on the rare occasions when his drivers didn’t have to manage issues.
The Italian marque’s harrowing run since the summer break continued at the Marina Bay Street Circuit as Charles Leclerc was sixth, while Lewis Hamilton was eighth.
Leclerc made a quick start to displace his team-mate and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, but he soon received repeated instructions to avoid heavy braking to cool his brakes.
The problem was much more severe on Hamilton’s car as his late charge was curtailed when his brakes gave up, causing him to exceed track limits and be penalised.
That cost him a spot to Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin, compounding Ferrari’s wretched time at a track where the team had been tipped to contend at the sharp end.
Vasseur, who described the situation as “horrible” on the pit wall, admitted the excessive brake management during the race concealed Ferrari’s true competitiveness.
Asked whether the pace would have been comparable to those ahead without the problem, Vasseur told media including Motorsport Week: “Honestly, I don’t know.
“I think we did a couple of laps with them, but then you don’t know.
“Very early in the race, we asked Charles to do a lift at the lift and coast.
“It’s not just a matter of doing a lift at the lift and coast when you’re losing a little bit on the end of the straight, it’s also to find the right braking point.
“And all the races that we were a bit more, a bit less, a bit more, a bit less, a bit more on the rear, a bit more on the front, you have to change the brake balance.
“And at the end, you lose probably more on the reference for you when you are driving the car than on the pure potential.”
Why Ferrari took little solace from Hamilton’s fastest lap
Hamilton scooping the fastest lap provided minimal to no consolation to Vasseur, who accepted that the feat wasn’t representative due to the Briton’s second pitstop.
“We put a set of Softs [on] at the end. It’s a fake fastest lap for me, that we are not in the same situation [as the others],” he acknowledged.
“What I can say is that when he was pushing, the pace was there.
“The gap with the cars in front of him was coherent with the delta that you have on the tyres, but nothing more than this.
“It’s also frustrating for us, because we had the feeling that when we did three laps in a row without saving, that the pace was not bad.”
Ferrari seeking desperate solution to ongoing issue
With George Russell triumphant and Antonelli also leading both Ferrari cars, Mercedes boasts a 27-point margin over the Italian marque in the battle to come second.
As it bids to overturn that gap, Vasseur has stressed that it is imperative that Ferrari avoids the issue rearing its head to such a degree across the remaining six races.
“I think both will come together. But if we are not able to fix the issues, no way to fight,” the Frenchman emphasised.
“It means that we have to fix the issue for sure for next week. Next week will be a different story. Next race will be a different story, but here both have to come together.”
READ MORE – The familiar frustration Ferrari faced at the F1 Singapore GP
Discussion about this post