Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur: “Let’s not talk about the world championship title”

A fine result for Ferrari at the historic British Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc’s ninth Grand Prix victory – his first since Austin 2024 – with Lewis Hamilton finishing third.

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur after the eventful Silverstone race: “I’m particularly pleased for Charles, as he’s had to put up with a lot of criticism in recent weeks, but he knew the team was behind him, and for our part, we could count on him to continue giving his all.”

“We have enormous confidence in Charles, and I’m more than happy to finally see him back on the top step of the podium.”

As for Ferrari’s pace, Vasseur believes: “We were more competitive than Russell, although it also seemed as though Kimi was even faster. When he came back out onto the track after his pit stop, he was extremely quick – it would have been a tough battle for Leclerc towards the end. Then Antonelli was unlucky with that failure. We’ll take the result as it is.”

Ferrari is chipping away at Mercedes’ championship lead, but Vasseur says: “Let’s not talk about the championship title just yet. We can enjoy the success at Silverstone, and then get to work for Belgium! We’ll tackle one race at a time.”

“After the race in Barcelona, I heard comments like ‘Ah, Ferrari’s back in the title race’. And I said: no, we’re not. The following week in Austria, I was told that Ferrari was nowhere to be seen. And I said no again, because we were on the front row of the grid, after all.”

“I’m sticking to my approach: I never try to jump to conclusions straight away after one race or two, after a good result or a bad one. I simply focus on doing more and making Ferrari better. You lot can talk about the title; as for me, I won’t.”