Ferrari team principal Vasseur after Hamilton’s debacle: “That simply has consequences”

Max Verstappen drove from 21st on the grid to second place behind Lando Norris at the São Paulo Grand Prix. Many Formula 1 fans expected a similarly spectacular comeback from the two Ferrari drivers. But in the end, the Monegasque driver could only manage eighth place, whilst superstar Hamilton finished ninth. What happened?

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur faced the media after the entertaining Brazilian Grand Prix. Hadn’t the Frenchman said after qualifying that Ferrari were competitive, regardless of whether the track was wet or dry?

And indeed, Lewis Hamilton found himself in ninth place after just one lap! But then, for some reason, things just didn’t go to plan.

Vasseur says: “It was probably a question of tyre pressure. As with any decision, there’s a positive and a negative side. Things went very well at the start, but not quite so well during the first part of the race afterwards. You can’t drive a first lap like that and not face the consequences. We had a few problems with the tyres during the race, which is why we were lacking a bit and things didn’t go exactly as we’d wanted.”

“Our pace was too inconsistent throughout the race. I have to say – if we lacked pace, it was more down to mistakes, because the car was very difficult to drive, and so, ultimately, we lacked competitiveness.”

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“It’s true that Charles was very fast towards the end of his stint on the old soft tyres, and now we know why. But it’s a real shame to have to settle for a result like this in the end, because the potential for more was probably there. It was difficult for our drivers to get consistent pace out of the car.”

What’s next in Las Vegas? Fred Vasseur believes: “Las Vegas will be an extreme race in terms of the weather, because, as usual, it will only be five degrees Celsius there at night, and that means we’ll find ourselves in the opposite situation to the one we’ve experienced all season. Normally, you try to cool the tyres down a little, whereas in this case we’ll have to keep them warm for as long as possible. We’ll have to take a completely different approach to the usual one.”