Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur says his team will go into this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid with “all the energy” to bounce back from their “failure” at Monza.
There were high expectations for Ferrari at their home event after Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were fast in Friday practice, only to miss out on the front row in qualifying before a desperate race on Sunday.
Hamilton dropped from fourth to 10th after going side-by-side with Leclerc at the first chicane, going through the gravel at Turn 2, which he was unhappy with.
Leclerc then had a big crash on the third lap that destroyed the car and left the Monegasque driver with initial eye problems.
Hamilton was up to third at one point in the race but lacked full pace and finished sixth behind Mercedes, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and both McLarens.
“We will come to Madrid with all the energy we need to get a good result,” said Vasseur.
“It’s true that Monza, for us, even if I go through the week to say it’s a normal race, it’s not what you can imagine. With all the fans, we expected to give them something else as a big thank you for their support and enthusiasm.
“We all have the feeling that we failed something, but you can be sure that we will come back much stronger.”
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Leclerc crashed at the Italian Grand Prix
Vasseur: Ferrari lacks pure power despite engine upgrade
Ferrari introduced their second and final engine upgrade of the season, but it was still slower than the Mercedes-powered cars in the straight.
Straight-line speed has been Ferrari’s biggest weakness, something that won’t be a problem around Madrid’s twisty new circuit, and Vasseur says he “didn’t expect” to make up the power unit deficit to Mercedes.
“When you lack pure power, then you start playing with placement, trying to compensate in a straight line,” he said.
“But if you put more somewhere, you’re probably going to put less somewhere else. Then you’re going to go down the wrong spiral to try to play with that when you’re struggling.
“Honestly, it’s not about the setting. Even McLaren, they were playing a bit on Friday and Saturday morning. In the end, we lack pure power.”
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Rosberg says it is not possible for Ferrari to favor Hamilton at this stage of the season
After the first Additional Development and Improvement Opportunities (ADUO) review earlier this year, Ferrari was deemed to be more than four percent behind standard engine manufacturer Red Bull.
That meant Ferrari could make two engine upgrades this year, and also for 2027, when the Scuderia will have a new engine.
“The engine process is very long. The chassis can be improved from one day to the next very quickly and you can get back to the pace,” said Vasseur.
“In the engine, the process is very long, because the production time of the parts is long and the cost limit is not easy – you have to produce the engine for the season.
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Hamilton says team ‘too late’ to implement any ‘Ferrari priorities’
“And if you want to start doing development, you have to produce a new set of engines. We don’t expect to recover with ADUO 1 or ADUO 2. We are taking baby steps.
“If you make a small step on the engine, remember that behind us, it was hundredths of a second. In terms of position, even if you make a few horsepower, it is a good step on the grid. Now we will have a new engine next year. Of course, the objective is to catch as soon as possible.”
Sky Sports F1 Spanish GP live schedule
Thursday 10 September
14:00: Drivers’ press conference
5.00pm: Paddock uncut
Friday September 11th
8.50 am: Exercises F3
10.00am: Exercises F2
12:00: First practice of the Spanish Grand Prix (session starts at 23:30)
12.55: Qualifying F2
14:40: Press conference of the team bosses
15:45: Second Practice of the Spanish Grand Prix (session starts at 15:00)
17:20: Qualifier F3
18:20: F1 show
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Watch F3 drivers complete in-season testing at Madring for the first time
Saturday, September 12
10am: F3 Sprint
11:00: Third Practice of the Spanish Grand Prix (session starts at 11:30)
13:10: F2 Sprint
14:15: Qualifying preparation of the Spanish Grand Prix
15:00: QUALIFICATION OF THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX*
16:55: F3 Feature Race 1
18:00: Ted’s qualifying notebook
Sunday, September 13
8.40am: F3 Feature Race 2
10.20: F2 feature race
12:30 p.m.: Grand Prix Sunday: Preparation for the Spanish GP
14:00: Spanish Grand Prix
16:00: Checkered flag: Spanish GP reaction
17:00: Ted’s notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 heads to Madrid for the Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit, with every session live from this Friday on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports NOW – no contract, cancel anytime