Ferrari arrived in Miami with a single objective, to regain the podium and performance after the disappointment in China, waiting to bring the first updates to Imola. In both qualifications Charles Leclerc hit the front row, also finding good feedback on degradation during the Sprint Race. Carlos Sainz, after an initial lack of feeling, seems to have found his pace again, and this has brought him closer to his teammate, in P2 and P3, thus dividing the two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen from Sergio Perez. Despite the good qualifying in Miami, Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur said he was not entirely satisfied with the result.
Vasseur, and the hope of Pole in the qualifying of the Miami GP
Frederic Vasseur would have liked more from the qualifying of the Miami GP. Charles and Carlos succeeded in what Perez failed to do, that is to get as close as possible to the indomitable Max Verstappen. A very important result, considering that Ferrari arrived in Miami, once again, without updates. Imposing yourself on the competition with the "basic" SF-24 bodes well for the next events.
“Overall we achieved a good result – said the Ferrari team principal a sky sports f1. We will start from second and third place with Red Bull first and fourth. There is a bit of frustration after the session, because perhaps we were hoping for a better result, but it was difficult for everyone to put together a lap on the soft and I think there is disappointment everywhere, but overall it is a positive performance and we are in a good position on the grid with the two cars, we'll see how it goes tomorrow. The race pace will be a different story as it has nothing to do with the preparation of the lap and then we won't race with the soft tyres: with these tires it was difficult for everyone, we were at the limit and if you pushed too hard you lost everything. It was like this for Charles, Carlos and all the others. Problems with the tires depend on the tracks and compounds, it's not always like this, but today things went well in preparing for the lap, but tomorrow will be another story, as will Imola."
Vasseur: “In the race we will have to stick to Verstappen's DRS”
In the race, Ferrari will have to be careful not only of Sergio Perez's pressure but above all not to let Max Verstappen escape. In fact, keeping the DRS will be fundamental for Leclerc. As Vasseur also explains.
“This morning we were slower than Red Bull, about one or two tenths: Max was going very fast in the first laps, then he suffered and then he picked up the pace again. Tomorrow it will be important to do a clean first lap and stick to Verstappen's DRS, because here it is very powerful and it means that we have to improve something, starting from the first lap. Degradation can make the difference, today there were no problems, let's see tomorrow. Talk to the pilots about the start tomorrow? I don't need them, they are professionals."
