Ferrari still beaten, Vasseur: “In the race we are better than in qualifying, we can win. And the ADUO…”

The opponents change, the Red chases. It must not be an easy condition to always be there, constantly fighting for the positions that count, but in the end always be beaten (at least up to this point) by this or that other rival. It is the first remnant of the 2026 season for Ferrari and for Fred Vasseur who, however, does not lose hope and indeed – even considering the less than impeccable state of form of the poleman Andrea Kimi Antonelli when the traffic lights went out – aims to take advantage of the always good starts of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to also fight for the victory. Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur speaks: “The objective is to win? Well, of course, it’s always possible to win when you start from the second row – explains the Scuderia Ferrari team principal, speaking live on Sky – and it’s true that since the beginning of the season we’ve always done a little better in the race than in qualifying. I have the feeling that we’re improving step by step, that we’re a bit at the beginning of something. But it’s true that there’s still a long way to go, not to mention that what happens in the race will also be dictated by the weather. Does Ferrari start better than Mercedes? This has been the case up until now, but it doesn’t mean that, since we were better until yesterday, we will also be better tomorrow.” The weak point, especially on a weekend like the one in Miami where all the Mercedes-powered teams debuted a fresh power unit, seems to be more than anything else in terms of thrust from the engine. While waiting for the Federation’s ruling on the ADUO, Fred Vasseur, however, does not go too far: “How many horsepower are we missing? You should ask the FIA ​​this. And in any case it is not just a question of horsepower but also of power delivery. Sometimes it is also a strategy of how you decide to deliver the power, if you want to do it along the entire straight or also in other points. Speaking with Toto, I believe that even Mercedes has changed the choice between yesterday and today. We are all in a process of understanding, it is not simple”. “I have to focus on development to push everyone in the company to bring updates to the chassis – he adds – as we did in this world championship, and that’s what we will do as soon as possible also on the engine. It’s true that now there is the opportunity of the ADUO. We have to wait for the FIA ​​ranking to come out or whatever it is, and then we will understand whether we can develop the power unit or not. Every little cent, however, will make the difference in the end. There will be a convergence in performance as always and we will have to look for that extra tenth”. In memory of Alex Zanardi The final comment is for Alex Zanardi, who passed away on the night between 1 and 2 May: “I remember perfectly, when I started in this environment, what Alex was doing. For me he was a great champion of Formula 1, of endurance, of CART in the USA. He was a great superstar, but even more than this I will keep in mind his tenacity and the fact that he was always positive and never gave up”, concluded the Ferrari team principal, Fred Vasseur.

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News
2026-05-03 08:00:00