After Carlos Sainz’s triumph in Mexico City, Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur showered praise on the Spaniard’s shoulders, while Ferrari also secured a second podium finish thanks to Charles Leclerc. That performance propelled the squad ahead of Red Bull in the constructors’ title with four races remaining – but Vasseur was careful not to get carried away.
Sainz had looked impressive at the Autodromo Hermanoz Rodriguez from the start, finishing in the top three in each practice session before securing pole in qualifying. His Q3 pace was such that even his first flying run would have been enough for pole, but he improved on his second run to wind up nearly two tenths ahead of the field on what is a
The track is relatively short. The Spaniard was also astute in managing his race, not fretting when he lost out to Max Verstappen at the start and instead trusting that he had the pace to reclaim the position – which he accomplished with an excellent late braking maneuver after the Safety Car arrived. And, unlike many others on Sunday, Sainz kept his move clean, so the stewards did not have to get involved.
“It was a perfect weekend because from FP1 [Sainz] was always on the pace, always there,” according to Vasseur. “He got the pole twice with two laps, and today he had the perfect drive since he gave up the first corner because it was too tight.
“He was It was clever to give up the position and then come back and overtake Max [Verstappen]. I believe it was a wonderful drive and weekend.” Leclerc was racing second to his teammate, having opportunistically passed the struggling Lando Norris and Verstappen early on, but he was unable to maintain his position against the surging Norris late on, denying Ferrari a second 1-2 in a row. “[Leclerc] lost three or four seconds in the traffic with some idiots and he came back, pushed a little too much, lost a little bit in the tyres in the traffic and honestly these guys, they have to respect the blue flag and I don’t understand why the FIA didn’t give them a penalty,” Vasseur
I fumed thereafter. Even with that minor blemish on the record, the performance in Mexico City propelled Ferrari ahead of Red Bull in the championship, and they are now only 29 points behind McLaren as they pursue their first manufacturers’ crown since 2008.
Vasseur has made it clear to the media that he would not discuss the constructors’ battle, preferring to focus on the progress his team has made in terms of pure car speed, as well as strategy calls, pit stops, and overall performance.
However, the Ferrari chief was cautious when predicting what will happen the rest of the season.
“The contest between the four teams is so close that an upgrade of one or two tenths can entirely affect the classification. Even in today’s two stints, I believe we were significantly faster than the others in the first, and Lando caught up in the second.You must resist drawing conclusions. I believe that next weekend in Sao Paulo, when we start from fresh, the top eight will be able to compete for pole, which is the championship’s very good side.
“We showed good pace in the last four to five events. We’ll be competitive in Sao Paulo, but the competition is so tight that anyone may win.”
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