Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were unable to secure a spot among the top three in the Chinese Grand Prix, unlike Lando Norris of McLaren, who finished in second place. Meanwhile, Ferrari achieved a respectable second place in the constructors’ championship of the 2024 season. The Italian team has been striving to reduce errors and close the gap to the dominant Red Bulls. However, they were unable to surpass their closest competitor, McLaren, during the Chinese race weekend. As a result, the team principal openly discussed the mistakes made in the development of the SF-24 car, which led to performance being overshadowed by McLaren.
The team principal did not hesitate to address the team’s shortcomings compared to McLaren. Vasseur emphasized that there were numerous mistakes made by his team, preventing Leclerc and Sainz from maximizing the potential of the challenging SF-24. According to the 55-year-old director, the team failed to fully exploit the capabilities of the car throughout the weekend.
Furthermore, Vasseur commented on the challenges faced at the Shanghai circuit after a five-year hiatus. He highlighted that the race weekend presented difficulties in testing the car in an ideal setup. The resurfaced track also caused issues for several drivers, including those from Ferrari. Despite this, Vasseur acknowledged that the team made mistakes during the preparation phase, while their rivals performed much better.
Classification has traditionally been a strong point for the Scuderia during race weekends. However, the team faced issues during qualifying at the Chinese GP. Neither Leclerc nor Sainz were able to secure a front row starting position or a place on the podium due to their poor qualifying positions. Vasseur admitted that the one-lap pace did not favor the Italian team.
Furthermore, the team principal explained that starting further back on the grid resulted in tire wear problems for the drivers. The poor qualifying performance indirectly affected Leclerc and Carlos’ entire race. However, Vasseur highlighted the positive aspect of the middle stint, stating that the team had control during that phase.
Therefore, Ferrari will analyze the race weekend data in China to identify the issues that led to the defeat against McLaren. They will focus on improving the chassis next week to deliver a stronger performance at the Miami Grand Prix. The team has shown that they are capable of challenging the dominant Red Bulls at the front of the grid.
