You can’t have a first lap like that and not pay the price, says Vasseur on Hamilton

Ferrari had secured a podium at each of the previous four race weekends, scoring more points in total than any other constructor. In Brazil, however, its form slumped, with just six points to show for its efforts. This time, Frédéric Vasseur believes the tyres were to blame.

Overtaking is possible in Sao Paulo, particularly in changeable conditions. Ferrari decided to take advantage of that, fitting Leclerc and Hamilton with new engine components in exchange for grid penalties. But they could not emulate Verstappen and finished only eighth and ninth.

Yet things had looked so promising for Hamilton. He gained an incredible eleven places on the opening lap. As the track dried, however, he slipped further back. “It was probably a question of tyre pressures. You cannot have a first lap like that and then not pay some price for it,” said team principal Frédéric Vasseur.

Hamilton’s tyres began to overheat, bringing a rise in pressures. The seven-time champion felt as though he was driving on “balloons”. “I don’t want to speak in details of technical stuff. But for sure it’s a lot about tyre temperature, and in certain phases of the race or certain conditions we are struggling more.”

Leclerc’s race followed the opposite pattern. He struggled in the opening stages but then found pace. “And yeah, there was a huge gap between the beginning of the stint of Charles on softs and last couple of laps, when he was almost as fast as the guys with new tyres.”

“As usual, when you have an issue with tyres, the effect or the impact is always much, much higher than the characteristic of the car, or the upgrade that you bring,” he explained, shedding more light on why Ferrari could not keep pace with the other leading teams. “You can bring an upgrade a weekend, if you are not in the right spot with the tyres, you are nowhere.”

“The magnitude of this is half a second, but most of the upgrades or the characteristic of the track is tenths,” Vasseur noted.

Ferrari was not the benchmark in the wet or the dry

Ferrari was not ideally equipped for the wet, nor is it ideally equipped for a dry track. That is when its power unit deficit comes to the fore. Maranello must hold on and hope it can also catch Red Bull and Mercedes on the engine front next season.

The Scuderia is therefore trying to take risks, as it did with Lewis Hamilton. But gambling cannot always compensate for its tyre and engine deficits. “I think it’s an accumulation between the mix of the top speed issue, we had to put the tyres in temperature, and we are at the back, and we are struggling. And then we are trying to find a shortcut on the strategy, and so on.”

“Then there is another issue – starting from the back with the penalty, and the fact that we are still struggling in terms of top speed. When you have only one line dry, it’s mega difficult, and we are stuck at the back,” said the Ferrari team principal.