Everything could change in China
“If I had signed for a third and fourth place? The competitor in me says no, but my more rational and pragmatic side gladly takes the podium and the points, also because we have a very long list of things to improve and we also know how”. Reached by the French magazine Auto Hebdo, Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur took stock of the first weekend of the season and the glass is half full.
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“There aren’t 8 tenths in Qualifying between us and Mercedes – added the number one of the Ferrari pit wall – I believe the Mercedes advantage was 3-4 tenths and that’s why even if we had pitted like them during the Virtual Safety Car, I think we would have held on for another ten laps or so before having to give way. In Australia, Mercedes was ahead of us and we were ahead of Red Bull and McLaren, although there will be continuous reshuffling and fluctuations in performance levels“.
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According to Vasseur, only after the Japanese GP will it be possible to draw a first overall balance after three races on three different circuits with different tires: “Australia was certainly not a track suited to the Ferrari SF26 with that long stretch without braking where energy had to be managed somehow – Vasseur explained – in China everything will be different, it will be much colder and like in Bahrain there will be many straights, but also just as many braking zones in which to recharge the battery. Then now everyone is only talking about energy management, but it’s not like other factors such as tire wear have disappeared. In China we will have to keep graining under control.”
