Метка: Ferrari

Hamilton’s arrival proves Ferrari is on the right track

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur reckons the fact Lewis Hamilton is joining from Mercedes confirms that his Formula 1 team is heading in the right direction.

Despite having a deal in place for next season, Hamilton broke his contract with the Silver Arrows to force through a move to Ferrari for 2025.

The switch rocked F1 as well as Mercedes but Vasseur, who worked with Hamilton previously in GP2 and the Formula 3 Euro Series, says he knew the seven-times world champion always had ambitions to join F1’s most-famous team.

He said: «Yes, it was not that difficult to convince Lewis.

«I remember that in 2004 we were together [in the F3 Euro Series] he at the time was tied to McLaren-Mercedes, but he already had in mind that sooner or later he would go to Ferrari.»

Speaking at the Festival dello Sport organised in Trento by the Gazzetta dello Sport, the Scuderia team principal added: «We talked about it some time ago, he always had this desire in mind, but of course, he is a driver who wants to have guarantees in terms of performance. For him this aspect is always in the first place.

«If he chose to join Ferrari, it confirms to me that we can have the right car. This is the ultimate goal.

«A driver like Lewis does not come to us on vacation and from my side, I think we are in the right place in terms of performance.

«We need a step forward and I can say that we are devoting a lot of resources to our next project.»

Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal and General Manager, Scuderia Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG

Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal and General Manager, Scuderia Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Hamilton will join up with Charles Leclerc, who himself raced for Vasseur in the junior categories before making the step up to F1.

Leclerc says that he is unfazed by Hamilton’s arrival and will welcome the challenge of him being on the other side of the garage, replacing Carlos Sainz.

Leclerc said: «I don’t think there is jealousy. Fred is not my girlfriend!

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«We love each other, we value each other but there is no jealousy.

«I was always aware of the negotiations between Lewis and Ferrari, I knew there was this possibility.

«Everything was very transparent and I was the first to say that for me to have a team-mate of this depth would be motivating.

«When you have a seven-time world champion driving your own car it’s a super interesting challenge, then I have a very good relationship with Lewis and I’m sure that will be the case in the future.

«Having said that, I really want to say that we also had a great partnership with Carlos. We worked very well and our relationship has always been great.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, leaves his pit box after a stop

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, leaves his pit box after a stop

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

«In a few months, we will turn the page, and I admit I am looking forward to the new challenge with Lewis.

«Every team-mate always has very strong points and weaker ones, so you can always learn. I see this as a great opportunity.»

Watch: Back in ’74 – How McLaren Conquered the Indy500 and F1 Titles in One Year



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Ferrari’s «small» Austin upgrade will be last of F1 season

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has revealed the small upgrade for the car at the upcoming Formula 1 United States Grand Prix will be the Scuderia’s last of the season.

The Maranello-based outfit remains in contention for the constructors’ championship despite the focus placed on the battle between Red Bull and McLaren — the gap standing at 75 points between the Woking team and Ferrari with seven rounds remaining.

In confirming an update package would be added to the car at the Circuit of the Americas, Vasseur revealed focus is then primarily on next year’s machinery.

«We all know that we already started the development of the next car, and we try to do our best to have small upgrades at the next one [race],» he said.

«I think it will be probably the last one for everybody; that will be true for us, but it will be true for the other teams.

«Now it’s so tight overall in the last four or five, six races, if you have a look on the grid, it may get tight and every single bit can make a difference.»

Ferrari’s Singapore Grand Prix hit trouble with a disappointing qualifying session in which Charles Leclerc struggled with tyre preparation and had a lap deleted in Q3, while Carlos Sainz crashed out.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images

The team then split strategies from ninth and 10th on the grid, with Sainz stopping early to get into clear air after losing positions on the opening lap, while Leclerc went later into the race to make his one and only stop.

Leclerc went on to finish fifth, hassling George Russell for fourth at the flag, while Sainz ended up seventh on his aged hard tyres.

Explaining why the decision to split approaches was made, Vasseur said: «To start [on] soft, you can make one position perhaps.

«But if you want to be aggressive, you will pit lap 12 or 15 like Lewis [Hamilton] did — you don’t have another choice.

«At least to start with medium, we had the opportunity to extend, the scenario of the race was a bit different and I think it was a good strategy.

«But the fact that we split the cars to do one early stop and then another one who extended was also the good call I think and it went pretty well due to the track position of the stint.»

Watch: Why RB have Dropped Ricciardo for Lawson with Immediate Effect



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Sainz fined for crossing track after Singapore Q3 crash

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Carlos Sainz has been given a €25,000 fine with half of it suspended for crossing a live Formula 1 track after his crash in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver slammed into the barriers at the final corner of the Marina Bay track with just over eight minutes of Q3 remaining.

Sainz was unhurt in the accident, climbed from his stricken car and, with the session red-flagged, walked across the track to reach the pitlane entrance.

Following an FIA stewards investigation, the Spaniard was given a €25,000 fine, €12,500 of which has been suspended for the rest of the season on the condition there is no similar incident.

Speaking about the incident, which means he is set to start tenth for tomorrow’s Grand Prix, Sainz admitted it had been his mistake.

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«I had a bit of a strange exit in there,» he said. «Had to let a lot of cars through opening my lap and my tyres were just a lot colder than I thought they would be.

«I misjudged the grip going on the bump on [Turn] 17, and it completely snapped on me. Driver mistake.

«I underestimated the grip I would get launching the lap — I was already under pressure with another car coming, and I knew that launching the lap I was already going to be slower because of approaching the last corner so slow.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, climbs out of his damaged car after a crash in Qualifying

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, climbs out of his damaged car after a crash in Qualifying

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

«So it meant that I tried to do something that was not enough grip to do.»

It was a similar incident to the Qatar Grand Prix last year when Lewis Hamilton was fined €50,000 — half of which was suspended for the rest of the year — and served with a reprimand.

Hamilton had tangled with George Russell into Turn 1 at the start of the Losail race, the contact breaking his right-rear wheel and ending his race.

While the race was placed under the safety car, Hamilton crossed the live circuit from the outside of Turn 1 to the pitlane, just seconds before Russell emerged from the pits.

On that occasion, the FIA stewards summoned Hamilton, who apologised before the governing body issued their verdict, saying: «During the hearing the driver of Car 44 was very apologetic and realised that the situation could have been very dangerous for him as well as the drivers approaching.

«The Stewards reinforced the fact that crossing a live track can cause extremely dangerous situations and the drivers have to be very cautious about it.»

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However, a week after the race, the FIA reopened its investigation because it felt the incident was much more serious than perhaps originally thought.

There was a feeling that penalties for drivers crossing a live track should be much greater for it felt that it was sending the wrong impression on younger drivers.

The FIA stewards explained Sainz’s penalty was half of Hamilton’s from last year because the Spaniard’s offence was during a red flag while the British driver’s was during a safety car period in a race.

Sainz also argued he was beyond pit entry, which was taken as mitigating circumstances.



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Sainz faces punishment for crossing track after Singapore Q3 crash

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Carlos Sainz is under investigation for walking across a live Formula 1 track after his crash in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver slammed into the barriers at the final corner of the Marina Bay track with just over eight minutes of the session remaining.

Sainz, who was unhurt from the accident, climbed from his stricken car and, with the session red-flagged, walked across the track to reach the pitlane entrance.

However, he will now be hauled to the stewards for crossing the track on foot while vehicles were deployed to repair the damage and recover his Ferrari.

It was a similar incident to the Qatar Grand Prix last year when Lewis Hamilton was fined €50,000 — half of which was suspended for the rest of the year — and served with a reprimand.

Hamilton had tangled with George Russell into Turn 1 at the start of the Losail race broke his right-rear wheel and ended his race.

Singapore GP

Singapore GP

While the race was placed under the safety car, Hamilton crossed the live circuit from the outside of Turn 1 to the pitlane, just seconds before Russell emerged from the pits.

On that occasion, the FIA stewards summoned Hamilton, who apologised before the governing body issued their verdict, saying: «During the hearing the driver of Car 44 was very apologetic and realised that the situation could have been very dangerous for him as well as the drivers approaching.

«The Stewards reinforced the fact that crossing a live track can cause extremely dangerous situations and the drivers have to be very cautious about it.»

However, a week after the race, the FIA reopened its investigation because it felt the incident was much more serious than perhaps originally thought.

There was a feeling that penalties for drivers crossing a live track should be much greater for it felt that it was sending the wrong impression on younger drivers.

More to follow…

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Ferrari caught out by McLaren’s top speed with «controversial» rear wing

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Charles Leclerc says Ferrari was caught out by McLaren’s top speed in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as he labelled his rival’s flexible rear wing a «controversial» design.

The Monegasque driver was locked in a race-long battle with Oscar Piastri for victory in Baku last weekend, but his hopes of a triumph were dashed just a few laps from home when his rear tyres faded.

Having reflected on the factors that cost him the win, he admits that one of the most important was the fact that, after losing the lead to Piastri, he and Ferrari never anticipated the McLaren’s top speed to be as high as it was – especially when DRS was not open.

That is why Leclerc did not choose to aggressively defend the front spot when Piastri made his critical pass of him on lap 20.

«It was a good move,» he said. «However, as I said when I saw him going on the inside, I knew he was there. I knew it was an opportunity for him to get past, but I was not more worried than that.

«I knew that he could take the lead, but I also knew that I was at the beginning of the warm-up of the tyres, and I didn’t want to push on them, so I didn’t want to start going stupid in terms of how defensive I would get.

«However, I was wrong because obviously his straightline speed was really, really strong and after that I never had the opportunity to pass again.»

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

He added: «I don’t think on the attacks there was anything better I could have done. I could have done a better job defending. However, again, I didn’t know how quick they were on the straights after that.»

The repeated reference to Piastri’s straightline speed comes amid great intrigue over the behaviour of McLaren’s rear wing in the Baku event.

As was revealed by rearward-facing onboard cameras, the upper element of the McLaren rear wing appeared to flex back on the straights and open up the slot gap to help reduce drag. It quickly earned the tag of acting like a ‘mini DRS’.

Its design has prompted some rival teams to seek clarification on its design to better understand what the limits are in terms of flexible bodywork.

Ahead of the Singapore GP, the FIA has said it is examining evidence it obtained on the wing from Baku to decide if it needs to make any response.

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It is understood that Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has some strong opinions on the matter, and he is due to speak at an official FIA press conference at the Singapore GP on Friday.

Leclerc said the team had discussed the matter internally, although he did not wish to get too drawn into the matter.

«Yes, [there is] definitely a dialogue that we’ve already had,» he said, when asked for his thoughts on the wing.

«I mean, I think Fred will go on that matter a bit more into detail, but from what I’ve been told, it’s controversial to say the least. So, yeah. I’ll leave that here and I’ll let Fred comment on it a bit further.»



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Ferrari and Toyota concede WEC drivers’ title to Porsche

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Ferrari and Toyota have conceded the World Endurance Championship drivers’ title to Porsche with one race left to run after Sunday’s Fuji round. 

The two manufacturers chasing the German marque in the Hypercar classification have admitted that their chances of taking the crown at November’s Bahrain finale are over after points leaders Lauren Vanthoor, Andre Lotterer and Kevin Estre took victory in the penultimate round of the series in Japan. 

There are 39 points up for grabs over the Bahrain 8 Hours WEC weekend on 2 November and the Ferrari crew of Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen and Antonio Fuoco have fallen 35 points in arrears of the Porsche drivers, while Toyota’s Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries are 37 points back.  

“For me it is game over,” said Ferrari sportscar racing technical director Ferdinando Cannizzo after the Italian manufacturer’s championship-challenging crew could only finishing ninth in their 499P Le Mans Hypercar at Fuji.  

“I’m not saying we are giving up — we will try to work miracles,” he added. “We need to have the car at its best, make everything perfect and put three cars on the podium.

“Mathematically it is possible, but the chances are very poor.”

Cannizzo also suggested that Ferrari’s chances of taking the manufacturers’ title were over after the marque fell 27 points behind Porsche at Fuji.

David Floury, Cannizzo’s counterpart at Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, offered a similar opinion following a non-score for the Toyota GR010 HYBRID LMH Kobayashi and de Vries share with Mike Conway after the first-named crashed with Porsche driver Matt Campbell. 

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Conway is fourth in the classification, tied with Campbell and team-mates Michael Christensen and Frederic Makowieci, after missing the Le Mans 24 Hours in June through injury. 

“Clearly for the drivers’ championship we are more or less out of contention,” Floury said. 

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries, #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries, #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor

Photo by: Andreas Beil

But the Frenchman insists that there is all to play for in the manufacturer’s championship in which Toyota are only 10 points adrift of Porsche. 

“It is still open in Bahrain and for sure we will be pushing,” he added. 

Estre asserts that it will be important for him and his team-mates to keep their “feet on the ground” in Bahrain.

“You can never be confident because if we have a bad race and one of the others has a perfect race, they can win,” he told Motorsport.com.

“We can be confident that if we keep doing what we have been doing the whole year we will have a very good shot and we don’t need to risk anything.”

Should the Ferrari win in Bahrain and take pole position, then Estre and his team-mates would only need to finish eighth to seal the title. 

If the Toyota was to win and take the point for pole, then they would only be required to finish 10th, which would give them the title on countback with more second places.



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Leclerc rues not defending harder against Piastri Azerbaijan Turn 1 move

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Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc admitted he didn’t defend well enough against Oscar Piastri as he lost an Azerbaijan Grand Prix win to the McLaren driver following a scintillating duel.

Leclerc started on pole for the fourth consecutive time on the streets of Baku, but after the only pitstop sequence of the race second-placed Piastri made an audacious lunge into Turn 1 on lap 20 to snatch the lead away from the Monegasque.

Leclerc stayed with the Australian for the remainder of the race and made several attempts to repass him into the same corner with the help of DRS, but as his hard tyres faded the Ferrari man had to settle for second instead.

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Leclerc admitted he was surprised by Piastri’s late Turn 1 move and realised he should have tried to defend rather than return to the racing line early, thinking Piastri was surely too far back to try anything.

«To be honest, we lost the race where I didn’t quite defend as well as I should have at the end of the straight,» said Leclerc.

«But it is the way it is. Sometimes you do mistakes and I’ll learn from it.

«When Oscar overtook me, I was like: ‘Okay, now it’s just a matter of staying calm, trying to keep those tyres [alive] and overtake him again later on’.

«But actually, it was a lot more difficult than that and on the straights I couldn’t get as close as I wanted. I think maybe McLaren had a little bit less downforce, so on the straights they were very quick. In the corners we were a bit quicker.»

Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, 2nd position, Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, congratulate Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, in Parc Ferme

Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, 2nd position, Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, congratulate Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Dom Romney / Motorsport Images

Leclerc initially thought Piastri was «crazy» for pushing as hard as he did on the second stint, with the Ferrari driver forced into abusing his hard tyres as well to keep up, which almost cost him second to Red Bull’s Sergio Perez at the end.

The Red Bull driver was involved in a collision with the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, though, on the penultimate lap, allowing Leclerc to finish second with badly worn tyres.

«We were very competitive, and the car felt good. Unfortunately, we didn’t do any high fuel running on my side in FP1, FP2, and we went for a set-up direction that maybe in the race was a bit more difficult to manage, especially on the hard tyres,» he added.

«I was really struggling to just keep those rear tyres [alive]. And towards the end I really thought that I would put it in the wall. It was very close.»



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Leclerc at a loss to explain Azerbaijan GP qualifying record

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Charles Leclerc has admitted there is no “magic answer” to his Baku brilliance after he charged to a fourth consecutive Azerbaijan Grand Prix pole position.

The winner in Monza last time out, the Monegasque recovered from crashing out in FP1 on Friday to put his Ferrari on pole once again, having previously done so in the last three years.

But Leclerc has been unable to translate any of those previous poles into a race win and conceded he was at a loss to pinpoint why he has been so hot on a Saturday in Baku.

“For some reason, there’s not that much scatter between my laps on this track. It looks like I’m very consistent. I don’t really have the magic answer, but I just like the rhythm of this track,” he said.

“I’ve been thinking about it and obviously, whenever you have a good weekend, you try to analyse. But I don’t really have a strong answer to it. I guess it just goes with my driving style very naturally, because most of the time, you have to work a lot to try and gain lap time.

“But there, I just feel good with the rhythm of this track for some reason. And yeah, that makes it a particularly good track for me.

“It was really good. But yeah, it’s also very difficult to compare it to other years. It’s not the best. I think the ‘21 one was probably the best as we were in a very, very difficult year. I think we were fighting for P9, P10, that championship and to be on pole here was very special. However, it was a good lap. I mean, it was a really good lap.”

Pole man Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, in Parc Ferme after Qualifying

Pole man Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, in Parc Ferme after Qualifying

Photo by: Dom Romney / Motorsport Images

Leclerc explained how he pushed to the limit on a track where the close barriers leave no room for error, having felt comfortable since first jumping into the car on Friday morning.

“I just took a little bit more risk compared to the first attempt in Q3. It was important to just have a lap on the board, and then in the second lap, you just take more risk and see what happens,” he added.

“Luckily, I finished both of the laps, and they were good laps. The car felt really good since FP1. Honestly, we barely changed the car from FP1 to now. Straight away, I felt happy and the balance remained really good.

“We had to counter a little bit the track evolution because there’s a lot of track evolution here, but the feeling was there straight away in FP1, even though there were not many laps in FP1 and FP2. That didn’t stop us from recovering after that and to be at ease for the weekend.”



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Ferrari bracing for ‘race of survival’ after tough Fuji qualifying

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Antonio Giovinazzi believes Ferrari can best hope to “survive” in Sunday’s World Endurance Championship race at Fuji after a tough qualifying for the two factory crews.

Giovinazzi struggled to 12th in the #51 Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar in the opening segment of qualifying on Saturday, lapping almost seven tenths off the pace set by Alex Lynn in the #2 Cadillac V-Series.R.

The sister #50 Ferrari driven by Antonio Fuoco did progress to Hyperpole, but the 28-year-old never featured in the battle for pole position either, ending up a distant seventh on the grid.

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Ferrari had a difficult outing at Fuji Speedway in its debut season last year with both its cars finishing a lap down on the winning Toyota, and Giovinazzi fears that the Italian marque is set for another frustrating result on its return to the 4.5km circuit.

Asked to explain Ferrari’s poor showing in qualifying, Giovinazzi told Motorsport.com: “Just no pace. I did the maximum I could do but the car was difficult to drive today in quali. We don’t start from a [good] grid position but it’s a long race so let’s see what we can do tomorrow.

“It was not the pace which we had in Austin and which was better. For some reason last year, we struggled here and same this year. So it’s not our track.”

He added: “We have many cars that are better than us – BMW, Alpine, of course Toyota and Porsche – so it will be a difficult race tomorrow. Let’s survive and see where we will finish.”

The #50 Ferrari shared by Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen is contending for the championship, with the trio trailing the #6 Porsche 963 of Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Andre Lotterer by 12 points with two races to run.

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

Photo by: Andreas Beil

Estre qualified the #6 Porsche in fifth place, while the #7 Toyota crew that is level on points with the #50 Ferrari ended up fourth in the hands of Kamui Kobayashi.

Fuoco said that Ferrari’s goal should be to take the battle to its closest title rivals to put itself in the best position for the Bahrain season finale in November.

“As always we are here to try to do the maximum, and tomorrow we try to fight,” he said. “Luckily the competitors which will fight for the championship are just in front of us and we [will] try to fight with them if we have the chance.”

Asked what would be a good result for Ferrari on Sunday, Fuoco said: “Surviving. Try to finish in the top five.”

Pressed further on whether that was realistic, he added: “Not really but always we try to make it work.”

Additional reporting by Gary Watkins



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