There is frustration at Ferrari after the Grand Prix in Baku. For the 4th time in 5 years, a Ferrari (Charles Leclerc’s) started from pole… and did not collect the 25 points for victory.
After dominating the first part of the race, the Italian team was unable to realise its ambitions due to a series of unfavourable circumstances, from the timing of Leclerc’s stop to Sainz’s accident with Perez.
Team principal Frédéric Vasseur first understood why Charles Leclerc had ultimately struggled to overtake Oscar Piastri, even before seeing his performance collapse at the end of the race. The Monegasque initially erred on the side of optimism, thinking that it would be easy to overtake the McLaren F1. Then, driving in the dirty air, he damaged his Pirellis too much.
“The rear tyres didn’t help Charles, but that shouldn’t be an excuse. Probably he was a bit optimistic after the first stint because we were very comfortable. So he didn’t push after the pit stop. Maybe it wasn’t the right approach because in the end it was very difficult to try to overtake Piastri. When you’re behind you damage the tyres more than when you’re in front.”
“Oscar’s overtaking? I haven’t spoken to Charles yet, but it was on the first lap of the stint, it was important to conserve the tyres, and maybe he didn’t see that Piastri was so fast on the straights, so he was surprised.”
“A fortnight ago in Monza it was probably the opposite: track position is important and when you spend 20 laps behind someone you use the rear tyres a lot trying to overtake. After 25 laps you start to degrade the tyres more than the person in front of you. I think that’s what happened in the first stint to Piastri who was behind us. He stayed behind us for 10 laps and then in the last five laps of the first stint we opened up a big gap.”
In qualifying and during the first stint on mediums, it was indeed Charles Leclerc who dominated Oscar Piastri’s McLaren F1. Enough to give Frédéric Vasseur even more regrets…
“We had the potential to win with the package we had on track in Baku. We started from pole, we dominated, and so before we talk about the next updates or developments, we have to make sure we get the most out of what we have.”
Pit stop management was also criticized. Leclerc pitted perhaps one or two laps too late, leaving Piastri to close the gap with the undercut. A problem Vasseur acknowledged, while defending the team’s decision:
“We would have done better to go in a lap earlier, but that’s a different story. The plan was to create a life gap with the tyres, and come into the pits a lap later.”
“It wasn’t a risk, on the contrary. When you have a 5-second lead over Piastri, you don’t expose yourself to the risk of a Safety Car by responding a lap later.”
Charles Leclerc’s pace on his exit lap was also criticised for its lack of aggression.
“We were a little shy on the exit tour” also admits Frédéric Vasseur. “Clearly we lost ground on Piastri, not only because of the stop, but also in finding our rhythm again.”
“We were convinced that to make the tyres last for 30 laps we had to start the stint slower and avoid pushing too hard on the out lap, but without losing our position.”
Frédéric Vasseur’s frustration was further compounded by the accident between Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez.
The FIA has not sanctioned either driver, but does Frédéric Vasseur share the same opinion?
“Carlos started the straight just behind Charles, and both he and Perez tried to take advantage of the slipstream. It’s true that Checo had a lot of space on the left and didn’t move, but it’s a shame to end a weekend like this.”
“But it was a good race, an intense afternoon. Everyone was on the limit with the tyres and you can’t always win. You can draw conclusions, of course, but overall we did a good job.”
A Scuderia once again very strong in Singapore?
Despite the disappointments in Baku, Vasseur remains optimistic about Ferrari’s future performances, particularly for the next Grand Prix in Singapore.
Will the Scuderia be very strong on this street circuit, like earlier this year in Monaco?
“The story could be different, because the type of corners will be similar, but with much more downforce. After Singapore we will take a break before Austin. We will have time to talk about it, but first I want to get a good result in Singapore, like last year. We are in a good moment and we have to continue like this to collect more points.”
“The pace was good all weekend in Baku. If we can score more points in Singapore, it would be a step forward.”
“There will be ups and downs until the end of the season. The important thing is to win when you are well placed, but also to pick up points when you are not. In Baku, things did not go in our favour, but there will be better weekends.”
With Carlos Sainz’s retirement, the constructors’ title has slipped away for Ferrari, but catching up with Red Bull is more possible than ever for 2nd place…
“In the end, the podium came with a 2nd place, we score more points than Red Bull, we catch up with them in the constructors’ championship and that’s important. But it’s true that there is a bit of frustration because we lost against Piastri and because of Carlos’ accident.”
“We are back in shape and we can fight for pole and victory every week. There are still 300 points available. Anything is possible, it will be a long fight. Things have not gone our way, but better weekends will come.”
