The Las Vegas Grand Prix did not give Ferrari the result they had hoped for. Despite third and fourth place finishes by Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc allowing the Scuderia to gain 12 points on McLaren in the Constructors' Championship, the weekend highlighted a series of difficulties, both technical and strategic, culminating in tensions in the pits between the two drivers. Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur analyzed the situation in the post-race Las Vegas, trying to clarify what went wrong.
Ferrari held back by technical directive?
One of the hot topics of the weekend was the introduction of the new FIA technical directive, which required changes to the floor pads to protect the plank from wear. Vasseur did not hide his discomfort at the tight deadlines given to the teams: “The technical directive was very late, we only received it on Friday, a week before qualifying. This had a significant impact on the budget, because we had to redo all the pads.”
However, the Team Principal was keen to point out that the weekend’s problems are not solely attributable to this change in the regulations: “It’s not an excuse. Our main difficulty was tyre management, especially in the first stint. Mercedes did a better job, managing to maximise performance on a track where graining made the difference.”
Problems in the race dictated by the tires
The Las Vegas race highlighted how much tyre degradation affected Ferrari’s performance. The strong initial graining penalised Charles Leclerc in particular, as Vasseur explained: “In the first stint, Leclerc tried to attack Russell and this increased the degradation. In the following stints, where he was more conservative, the situation improved. This shows that it doesn’t just depend on the car, but also on how you manage your race pace.”
Strategies were not immune to criticism either. The most emblematic episode was linked to the second stop of Carlos Sainz, who was called back to the pits and then left on track at the last moment. “There was confusion,” Vasseur admitted. “Carlos wanted to come in, but we wanted to keep him out to avoid traffic and gain positions. It was chaos, but these are situations that happen when you try to maximize every detail.”
The battle between Sainz and Leclerc
The most critical point of the weekend was Sainz's overtaking on Leclerc after the second pit stop. The Monegasque, who had been asked to hold his position, was overtaken by his teammate, who took advantage of the already warm tyres to conquer the podium. An episode that generated palpable tension in the pits and on the team radio.
Vasseur tried to pour water on the fire: “I’m not worried. Sainz was in a better situation with the tyres already up to temperature, while Leclerc still had to get them to the optimal window. We will have to talk about it, but it’s not an issue that worries us for the future. These episodes happen when you are on the limit.”
In Qatar to play for the title in Abu Dhabi
Despite the difficulties, Ferrari managed to limit the damage and keep alive its hopes of securing second place in the Constructors' Championship. “I would rather be 24 points behind than 200,” said Vasseur. “The championship is still open and anything can happen. We have to keep pushing until the last corner of the last race.”
Qatar, the penultimate round of the season, represents a tough challenge for the Scuderia, but Vasseur was confident: “It will not be an easy track for us, but we have had difficult weekends in the past and we still managed to do a good job. The aim is to put pressure on McLaren and maximise the points available.”
Source statements: FormulaPassion
