Ferrari’s struggles at the Austrian Grand Prix originated from a fundamental lack of pace, not flawed strategy, confirmed team principal Frederic Vasseur. Despite Charles Leclerc qualifying a strong second on the grid, he ultimately dropped to eighth by race end. Ferrari cars were unique among the top-four teams for making three pit stops, but Vasseur firmly attributes this to their pace deficit, not poor calls. The team tried to compensate for their lack of speed against Mercedes and Max Verstappen by taking strategic risks, but "it was not a good fight." Vasseur pointed to a "poor Friday" impacting their weekend and suspects the team over-pushed in the early laps to stay with the front-runners. This aggressive initial push led to "overheating and destroying everything," ultimately compromising their race performance. Ferrari must now pinpoint how to sustain race pace if they hope to challenge at upcoming rounds.
Read the full story at RaceFansFERRARI WERE “OVERHEATING AND DESTROYING EVERYTHING” IN THE AUSTRIAN GP – VASSEUR
Ferrari’s struggles at the Austrian Grand Prix originated from a fundamental lack of pace, not flawed strategy, confirmed team principal Frederic Vasseur. Despite Charles Leclerc qualifying a strong second on the grid, he ultimately dropped to eighth by race end. Ferrari cars were unique among the top-four teams for making three pit stops, but Vasseur firmly attributes this to their pace deficit, not poor calls. The team tried to compensate for their lack of speed against Mercedes and Max Verstappen by taking strategic risks, but "it was not a good fight." Vasseur pointed to a "poor Friday" impacting their weekend and suspects the team over-pushed in the early laps to stay with the front-runners. This aggressive initial push led to **"overheating and destroying everything,"** ultimately compromising their race performance. Ferrari must now pinpoint how to sustain race pace if they hope to challenge at upcoming rounds.
