Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur is astonished: “At times 20 km/h slower than the opposition”

Drivers and engineers had feared it, and now it has come to pass: energy management on the historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit is extremely complex – a foretaste of what lies in store for the bright minds of the full-throttle racing world at Monza.

Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur said after the first two practice sessions for the Belgian Grand Prix: “Spa has always been a challenge, but now a whole new factor has come into play. We saw today in race trim that there are sometimes huge differences in speed between the cars; in some cases, you’re up to 20 km/h slower than your rivals on one straight – and then 15 km/h faster on a later one!”

“Of course, the engines deliver more or less the same electrical power, but it’s simply clear that the drivers use that power very differently, depending on whether they’re attacking or defending. So we’re likely to see very different strategies.”

In the first practice session, the two Ferraris finished in 2nd (Lewis Hamilton) and 3rd (Charles Leclerc), but then their rivals stepped up their game. Vasseur: “Pah, we’ve seen time and again that Friday’s free practice isn’t particularly indicative of what happens in qualifying on Saturday. There’s far too much tinkering with engine power and fuel load. We’ll all be wiser by Saturday evening.”

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