Ferrari F1 Team Principal Demands Key Change to Hunt Down McLaren

Newsweek

17 hours ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Scuderia Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has highlighted the key area his team needs to focus on to challenge the McLaren Racing Formula One team. Vasseur admitted that while his team has the pace, it could take that big leap forward by being consistent every race weekend.
Ferrari has endured a challenging first half of the 2025 season, where neither Charles Leclerc nor Lewis Hamilton has been able to win a Grand Prix. Although Leclerc has finished five times on the podium, the seven-time world champion is facing challenges in adapting to the SF-25 F1 car following his move from Mercedes to Ferrari early this year.
Leclerc got close to winning the last race at the Hungaroring after starting from pole position, a first for Ferrari. He managed to keep Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at bay until the second pitstop, which handed a one-stopper Norris the race lead. However, a problem with the chassis on Leclerc's SF-25 compromised his pace, leading him to drop from second to fourth.
The race highlighted Ferrari's strong pace, but a technical problem deprived the team of its first win. Vasseur believes his team needs to remain consistent every race weekend to narrow the gap to the dominant McLarens. He explained:
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on July 28, 2024 in Spa, Belgium.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on July 28, 2024 in Spa, Belgium."It's mega difficult to predict, also because I think the picture of one day is not necessarily true the next weekend. But at least I would say that the last two [races] that we are back on the pace.
"We are consistently on it – not the last stint; I'm not completely stupid, guys – we are quite consistent on the tires, we are able to manage the pace and if we are back in qualifying, it means that we will fight with them.
"I think that the advantage that they have today is that they are always there – it doesn't matter [the conditions]. OK, in qualifying, we were a bit faster, but it was marginal, and they are performing in every single condition when we are a bit more inconsistent during the weekend.
"We need to be very consistent in every single condition. In the free practice to have a good preparation for the race, in Q1, Q2, Q3, with all the sets in the race, with the different compounds and so on. I think it's where today they are a bit more performant than us."
Vasseur explained that Ferrari's pace during the Hungarian GP was evident with a good enough tire advantage, but the race ended with mounting frustration. He added:
"You do the pole position, it's always a bit easier to stay in front than to be behind. I don't know if the gap in the first stint is two tenths with [Oscar] Piastri or it's one tenth, but in this magnitude, I think the pace was there.
"We were even able to extend a little bit when we were under pressure with the pit stop. It means that we had the pace at this stage to do one or two tenths more or less.
"I think this part of the race went very well for us, that it was really under control, that we didn't have the feeling to push too much. We were even able to extend, but we didn't lose the consistency and the tires at all.
"We stopped just to avoid the undercut, but we could have done a couple of laps more at the same pace. It's frustrating."