Fred Vasseur: Ferrari is focusing everything on Q3 and fighting for Leclerc’s engine

In the first free practice session in Madrid, things didn’t go brilliantly for Ferrari, but overall they put in a fairly convincing performance. In FP1, the Ferraris finished third (Charles Leclerc) and fourth (Lewis Hamilton), beaten only by Mercedes, who set their fastest times on soft tyres. In FP2, Leclerc finished second and Hamilton third. So is the Scuderia on the right track to be in contention for victory at the Madrid circuit?

What counts is Q3

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur explained the approach of the historic Italian team on Friday evening in the Madrid paddock: “I think the right set-up is the one we’ll use in qualifying, not in free practice.” Of course, that’s where it counts! Vasseur: “We know the track will change significantly, even during the session. The most important thing is to anticipate the grip in Q3 and be ready for Q3 – there’s no point in being the best in free practice but not in qualifying.” So you shouldn’t read too much into the practice times – what counts is the battle for pole position.

Commenting on the first laps on the new circuit in Madrid, Vasseur says: “It’s a challenge that pretty much every type of corner in the season is represented here, and it’s good practice for the engineers, but ultimately it’s also difficult to gauge how the grip will develop between the third free practice session and qualifying – and even during qualifying itself. This means that energy management in the high-speed sector is complicated, and I think the key will be to gauge the pace correctly in Q3.”

How is Leclerc’s engine holding up?

Last weekend at Monza, Charles Leclerc was involved in a heavy crash. He hit the tyre barriers sideways with considerable force. Leclerc himself experienced temporary vision problems and a stiff neck, but is otherwise unharmed. The question for the race, however, is: has his power unit taken a knock and might it no longer be usable? The engine is currently at the Ferrari factory for inspection. If the engine were a write-off, it would mean the loss of a valuable component from the pool. Furthermore, the engine – which has been overhauled in accordance with the ADUO rule – is expected to give him a performance advantage. If it were repairable, that would be good news for Baku in two weeks’ time.

Can his team principal, Vasseur, clarify on Friday evening whether Leclerc lost his power unit as a result of the crash at Monza? The Frenchman said: “I’m not going to clarify that. We’ll give it a go.” So it sounds as though Ferrari are continuing to work on getting the engine up and running again – and as though the power unit hasn’t quite been written off just yet. Incidentally, Leclerc finished ahead of Hamilton – who has the new engine specification – despite running an older one.

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