Ferrari had been the 2024 season’s second-best staff to date, however did not reside as much as these expectations finally weekend’s Shanghai occasion.
Having had at the very least one driver on the rostrum throughout the primary 4 races, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz solely certified sixth and seventh respectively, six tenths off Max Verstappen.
The pair managed to maneuver forward of Mercedes’ George Russell and Aston Martin man Fernando Alonso to complete fourth and fifth, however nonetheless fell effectively wanting difficult McLaren’s Lando Norris, who convincingly grabbed second.
Crew principal Vasseur mentioned his staff “made too many errors” making an attempt to optimise its package deal for the tough Shanghai circuit and its uncommon tarmac coating, which led to being behind the curve in qualifying.
“I believe it is actually a matter of placing the whole lot collectively,” Vasseur defined. “We did not have a clear weekend on our facet, however we made collectively too many errors.
“On this group, if you happen to do not do the right job you will not be in entrance. We’ve a pack with six or seven automobiles in a single tenth in qualifying. That implies that as a consequence of particulars you may transfer from hero to zero.”
Frederic Vasseur, Crew Principal and Basic Supervisor, Scuderia Ferrari
Photograph by: Ferrari
Each Ferraris initially misplaced positions to Russell – and briefly Haas’Â Nico Hulkenberg – firstly as they struggled for grip, which made their restoration more durable than it wanted to be.
A mid-race security automotive additional difficult issues for Sainz as he had already made his one pitstop for onerous tyres, giving him a tyre-life drawback in opposition to the automobiles round him.
However Vasseur identified each Ferraris struggled extra on the onerous compound than on the mediums they’d began the race on, which is an space to analyze.
“I believe if we lose one thing right now, it is extra on the final stint. Carlos was a bit unfortunate with the timing of the pitstop, as a result of he pitted three or 4 laps earlier than the security automotive,” the Frenchman mentioned.
“He was a bit scared to do a really lengthy stint with the final set of onerous and he was a bit conservative initially, however he did very effectively to handle the lengthy stint.
“We had been a bit much less performant on the onerous than on the medium. We had been in a very good place on the finish of the stint of medium, however we misplaced floor on the onerous.”
Shanghai’s tough floor situation, paired to the dash format’s restricted follow time, could have tripped Ferrari up, however Vasseur did not wish to name in excuses.
“It is extra a matter of extracting the very best of what now we have, and we did not do the job this weekend on this,” he admitted.
“It was very obscure the tarmac, additionally because of the format. This could make a distinction on the finish as a result of we’re talking about one tenth, we aren’t talking about half a second.
“However this can’t be an excuse. It is the identical for everyone and a few groups managed it higher than others. We’ve to grasp if we will do a greater job with the preparation.”
Further reporting by Erwin Jaeggi
