Vasseur Confident in Battle Between Leclerc and Hamilton
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has expressed his full confidence in his drivers to compete with each other for position, following the intense battle between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Hamilton finally prevailed over Leclerc in the fight for third place, after both drivers exchanged positions several times during the race.
Although Hamilton suspected that there might have been slight contact at some point, Vasseur stated that the competition was in line with Ferrari’s expectations for its drivers.
“I have great respect for both of them, they are professionals and I think it makes sense in this situation to let them run,” said Vasseur.
Vasseur also added that this internal competition is fundamental for the development of the team. “At the end of the day, I think it’s also the best way to build a team and we need to have this kind of emulation to improve,” he explained.“As long as it’s done like it was done today, even a couple of times on the radio they told us they had a lot of fun, but I don’t want to freeze the position,” he added.
Hamilton took advantage of a good start to lead the eventual race winner, Kimi Antonelli, into the first corner, but the advantage over the Mercedes driver only lasted until the second lap.
The Ferraris managed to keep George Russell at bay until lap 29, but Vasseur acknowledged the performance advantage of the Mercedes once the Ferrari drivers were a second away and could no longer use the overtaking mode.
“At the beginning we were struggling with the Mercedes,” said Vasseur. “As long as we are in second we can have the extra momentum and so on, we are able to keep the pace, but as soon as they make a one-second gap, it’s much more difficult.”
“Perhaps we are pushing a little harder than them in the first laps, and then, after the first ten laps of each team, we go back to the four, five, tenths per lap that they have.”
