It was the sweetest qualifying of the season for Ferrari, who chose the best circuit to interrupt Verstappen’s pole position streak. Team principal Fred Vasseur underlined the perfection that Charles Leclerc expressed thanks to the consistency he put on track session after session.
Although Ferrari has optimised such a crucial qualifying session, Vasseur insists the job is not done. He emphasises the importance of executing a clean race, both strategically and operationally.
VASSEUR PRAISES LECLERC’S CONSISTENCY THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND
Despite Leclerc being relatively dominant in the sessions before qualifying, Q1 was not the cleanest session for the Monegasque.
A plastic bag ended up on the front wing, complicating the first part of the session. Still, this hiccup did little to worry the Ferrari driver.
“It’s true that Q1 didn’t start very well for us, and then there was that plastic bag that made us have to return to the pits twice.
“I was a little scared that it might affect him,” Vasseur said.
“But he kept his cool and did great.”
The Ferrari team principal also praised the Monegasque’s consistency throughout the weekend:
“From the beginning of the weekend, he was very consistent. He had a very fast pace from the start.”
Vasseur then explained that Ferrari’s decision to change Leclerc’s power unit before FP3 was precautionary:
“We changed it for safety, no worries for tomorrow.”
VASSEUR: “VICTORY IS NOT A GIVEN, EVERYTHING MUST BE PERFECT”
Regarding Carlos Sainz’s qualifying, Vasseur was happy with the Spaniard’s progress. In the early stages of the weekend, he had, in fact, taken more time to find the right feeling.
“Carlos was also very strong in qualifying with a good lap at the end and it’s nice to have both cars in front, also from a strategy perspective for everything else.”
The strategic aspect will play a crucial role from a race perspective, but although it is delicate to round off a perfect weekend so far, Vasseur is confident in his abilities.
“I think we have the advantage of always having the same routine in the preparation phase, for the strategy, for the set-up and so on… So I think it will be easily manageable.”
Ferrari, therefore, faces the Principality of Monaco on Sunday, having expressed its maximum potential. To complete the work, it will be necessary for all the pieces to be placed in the right place and at the right time:
“We know that it is exceptionally important to get the pole position in Monaco, but then winning the race is not a given, so we have to do everything as needs to.”
