Vasseur: “Everything was under control, then the Safety Car arrived”

First GP without a podium for Ferrari For the first time in 2026, Ferrari concluded a race weekend without getting on the podium in a GP. The updates to the SF-26 worked, but in Miami the gap in terms of engine with the Mercedes-powered cars and also with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull was a practically insurmountable obstacle for Charles Leclerc in defending a podium that vanished right at the end. The Monegasque was third, but suffered a comeback from Oscar Piastri who took third position on the penultimate lap. Leclerc then spun in Turn 3 on the last lap, damaging the car and triggering a domino effect that relegated him to sixth position (and potential penalties could sink him even further. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur commented on the race to Sky’s microphones as follows: “We were leading the race and in control, then the Safety Car arrived – said Vasseur – at that point the opponents were able to use the overtake mode of the power unit and we were in difficulty. We suffered a little too much from the overheating of the tyres, especially the rear axle. We need to fix this aspect because already yesterday in the Sprint we had a very good first part of the stint and then the pace dropped in the end and we were able to keep our rivals at a distance.

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News
2026-05-04 06:00:00