Fred Vasseur has responded to Lewis Hamilton calling his Ferrari “the most difficult car I’ve driven here” at Silverstone on Sunday.
Hamilton finished P4 in an entertaining British Grand Prix, but was unable to close down the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg in the closing laps, who rose from the back row to take his first career podium in Formula 1.
Vasseur responds to Lewis Hamilton assessment of Ferrari at Silverstone
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
Hamilton had said during the race his car felt “very snappy”, having taken to the run-off at Copse in mixed conditions on Sunday.
He added that his car felt “unbelievably tricky” to drive, making the SF-25 “the most difficult car I’ve driven here” at Silverstone, with issues he will want addressing on next season’s car.
While Hamilton equalled his best Grand Prix result at Ferrari over the weekend, the seven-time World Champion’s comments were put to the Scuderia’s team principal after the chequered flag.
“I think Max did the same,” Vasseur said with a smile to media including PlanetF1.com after the race, referencing Verstappen’s complaints about his Red Bull during the British Grand Prix.
“I didn’t have time to discuss with Lewis about the balance, but I think from the car, and he said this in the radio, ‘very snappy’, but it was not always true.
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“I think it’s very difficult to have a consistent car. It’s where McLaren is much faster than everybody, because if you have a look, everybody is competitive, but [a] couple of laps, it’s easier that we are competitive at the beginning of the stint, or at the end of the stint, or dependent on the tyre pressure, and soon as you are a bit aware of this, you are struggling a lot, but let me discuss with Lewis.”
While Hamilton was unable to close in on Hulkenberg for the final podium position at Silverstone, Charles Leclerc pitted after the formation lap for slick tyres, which Vasseur admitted meant his “race was done on lap one.”
Given the unpredictability of the weather, the Ferrari team boss admitted others on the grid are likely to carry “regrets” about how their races panned out, but wanted to keep the focus on the next races.
“I’m not sure that the pure pace is the main issue today,” Vasseur explained. “What is true is that, on Charles at least, is that the race was done on lap one.
“We made the call to pick for slicks, and then the main issue we had today was that we struggled a lot when we were in the dirty air to overtake, and then we are much faster [after overtaking].
“It was a difficult weekend. Difficult for the strategy today. I think everybody has tons of regrets – except Norris, probably, and Nico [Hulkenberg], but when we finish the race like this, you have always had the feeling that if I had pitted one lap before, one lap after, it would have been much better, but let’s be focused on quali and the championship.”
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