Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur has described the São Paulo
Grand Prix as a “missed opportunity” following Charles Leclerc’s
non-start but admonished his driver of any blame. Leclerc suffered
a loss of power and control of his steering wheel on the formation
lap and was spun into the barrier at Turn 6, sending him out of the
race before it had even started. It marked the second non-start in
four races for Ferrari after Carlos Sainz was ruled out of the race
in Qatar with a pre-race fuel leak. Leclerc was due to start on the
front row alongside polesitter Max Verstappen and after a bold tyre
strategy through the weekend aimed at maximising the race, Vasseur
told media including RacingNews365.com : “It’s very frustrating for
Charles and for the team. “The issue also is that strategically
over the weekend, we put all the effort into the long run to save
tyres. “We didn’t put new tyres on for the Sprint and we didn’t
take the start [of the Grand Prix]. “For sure it’s frustrating, it
was more than disappointing but I’m sure that he will be back we’ll
be focused on Vegas. “It was not the Charles’ fault at all that.
Someone told me about social media, they were complaining about
Charles but without the gearbox and the power steering, you can’t
do anything.“ Ferrari hunting for cause of failure “Now we have to
stay calm to understand what’s happened to avoid any issues in the
future,” added Vasseur after Ferrari missed an opportunity to
capitalise on Mercedes’ struggles in the race for second in the
Constructors’ standings. “The pace over the weekend was not that
bad. We were in a good position and it’s a missed opportunity
because we are catching up Mercedes a little bit. “With Charles on
the first row with fresh tyres it could’ve been so much better. “We
have still two attempts, Vegas and Abu Dhabi. Vegas could be a
chaotic one and if we have the same pace as this weekend and
Mercedes the same pace as this weekend then we have another
opportunity.”
Source: Read More