Frederic Vasseur: We will keep fighting until the end

The results of the Qatar Grand Prix were predetermined by several events that took place on the track and had certain consequences. And if these conditions helped Charles Leclerc to 2nd place, Carlos Sainz finished only sixth – also due to the fact that the left front wheel of his Ferrari was punctured, which made the time loss at the pit stop much greater.

The cause of the tire damage was debris from a rear-view mirror that had fallen from Alex Albon’s Williams – this debris also punctured the wheel of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.

After the finish, Frederic Vasseur commented on some of the most important episodes of the race and the decisions Ferrari made.

“When I analyze these events now, I think it would have been easier if a safety car had been released on the track, but the FIA ​​has decided otherwise and nothing can be done about that,” reasoned the head of the Scuderia. “If they had done this immediately, it would have been possible to remove the mirror sooner and the situation would certainly have been much less dangerous.”

We were unlucky because of that and I’m sorry it happened to Carlos because he had to drive a whole lap at a slow pace to reach the pits, losing one or two positions. Apparently the FIA ​​did not expect anyone to bump into the mirror as it was located outside the racing line on the track.

Judging by how further events unfolded, the most correct choice would have been to introduce a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) mode. We can only regret that in that situation the race was ruined not only for Carlos, but also for Lewis Hamilton.

If we talk about our tactics, at the beginning of the race we did not plan to attack with full force, and both riders coped well with the task. The idea was to act somewhat conservatively at the start and attack closer to the finish.

Due to the safety car we had to make a pit stop earlier than planned, but I think the tactics were well chosen from the start. At the pit stop we had to switch to hard tires; this allowed us to reach the finish without any problems and avoid unnecessary risks.

The most important thing is that we earned more points than McLaren. We are now only 21 points behind them and with the final race ahead of us, that means anything is still possible. We have also increased our lead over Red Bull, allowing us to focus more on the battle against McLaren in Abu Dhabi.

In theory, Yas Marina should suit our car better. In addition, Max Verstappen, as well as the Mercedes drivers, will go very quickly, so that the events of the championship final can develop according to any scenario. But we are determined to give it our all and will continue to fight until the end, until the last checkered flag of the season.”