Ferrari as soon as once more missed out on the rostrum in Bahrain – a end result that appeared inside attain till the Security Automobile nullified the strategic benefit constructed as much as that time. Fred Vasseur defended the choice to suit onerous tyres throughout these moments, moderately than the softs which turned out to be more practical on George Russell’s Mercedes. The Staff Principal additionally expressed his assist for Lewis Hamilton, acknowledging the difficulties he’s going through in adapting to the Ferrari.
The reasoning behind the technique
“We had no selection between the onerous or used mushy underneath the Security Automobile, at the very least from our perspective,” Fred Vasseur defined, placing into context the choice to suit the onerous compound, which later proved underwhelming. “I feel even Russell at one level thought-about it very formidable to go for twenty-four laps, however ultimately it paid off. The observe was a bit cooler and extra rubbered in.” The Staff Principal additionally defended the group’s general method to the race: “I feel the preliminary technique was good. Within the first stint we paid the worth, having to stretch it a bit, however then the tempo was actually sturdy and it might have been an awesome race if not for the Security Automobile. However we will’t complain, that’s a part of the sport.”
“With out the Security Automobile, we might have chosen between the mushy and onerous for the ultimate stint, however with the neutralisation and 24 laps remaining, the mushy was now not an possibility for us. The entire race was a bit chaotic when it comes to technique. There are races the place 90% of the grid does precisely the identical factor, and others the place it’s not like that. Antonelli had fitted the softs earlier than the Security Automobile, which means he would have needed to do three stops. We’re nonetheless taking our first steps with these compounds, I feel we’re all nonetheless flying a bit blind. That’s a part of the sport, and I feel McLaren is by far the very best on this.”
Help for Lewis
Fred Vasseur then turned to Lewis Hamilton’s ongoing adaptation struggles: “I perceive his frustration on Saturday night. When you take a look at the free follow periods, Q1 and Q2, he was at all times a couple of tenth off Charles. Then in Q3 his first lap was deleted, and within the second he made a mistake. That’s irritating, for each him and us. However on Sunday he fought again effectively to complete fifth. His race tempo was almost on par with the highest three. For me, that was effective – he was very aggressive. These days, although, when you go away 2 or 3 tenths on the desk in qualifying due to a mistake, you lose 6 or 7 positions.”
The Frenchman urges persistence earlier than judging Lewis Hamilton’s integration at Ferrari: “You don’t change 12 years of collaboration in 2 weeks or 2 races. We positively want to enhance, however that applies to everybody within the group and within the paddock – it’s within the DNA of our sport. It’s good that Lewis has the mindset of wanting to enhance and adapt to the automotive. We’ll work to adapt the automotive to him, however he additionally has to take a step. I feel we’re doing all this in a really constructive means collectively.” – the French supervisor identified on the finish of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
“I favored that he was a bit down on Saturday. When you qualify eighth and say ‘it’s a disgrace’, it means you’re upset – as a result of the entire weekend had been going a lot better. […] I appreciated his response on Saturday. I did my greatest to push him, and on Sunday he was in nice form. We’ll decide up from there subsequent week.”
Looking forward to upcoming races
Regardless of encouraging indicators when it comes to race tempo, Bahrain confirmed the bounds of the SF-25: “When you take a look at the season common, I feel we’re lacking 2, 3 or 4 tenths. We’re missing one thing. We have now to maintain working. Aerodynamic load is a part of that hole.” The important thing, in keeping with Fred Vasseur, might be to maintain a stage head: “We have to keep calm. We have now highs and lows, like everybody. The issue is that for us the highs are larger, and the lows simply as low. If we wish to keep a constant method – as we’ve accomplished very effectively during the last 2 years – we now have to remain calm and enhance hundredth by hundredth. I’m satisfied we’ll do the identical good work we’ve accomplished over the previous 2 years.”
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