Fred Vasseur admits Ferrari GUESSWORK at Spa and says 'plan didn't work'

Ferrari

Vasseur admits Ferrari GUESSWORK at Spa and says 'plan didn't work'

The Prancing Horse had a mixed weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Monday 31 July 2023 08:27

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Fred Vasseur has admitted that Ferrari took a shot in the dark at their setup for the Belgian Grand Prix, with heavily reduced running time due to the sprint weekend format and the wet track for the only free practice session.

With the forecast for Sunday constantly changing, teams were forced into their best guesses for both what the weather would be and how their cars would respond to a potential wet race.

Despite that, Charles Leclerc managed to finish 'best of the rest' behind the two Red Bulls in third, having started Sunday's feature race on pole position – showing the Prancing Horse's pace in both damp and dry conditions.

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Unfortunately for the team, Carlos Sainz's race was ruined when a first corner collision with Oscar Piastri left a gaping hole in the side of his car, dramatically impacting his pace and leading to his eventual retirement at around the half-distance mark.

Vasseur: Our plan for Carlos didn't work

"I think we had a good weekend," the Ferrari chief said. "We showed a good race pace, so the team had a good weekend. Of course, Carlos wasn’t that good today. We tried to keep the car in the race, but our plan didn’t work.

"It was very difficult to clearly understand the race because we only had one free practice, and it was in wet condition. I think our strategy was good, and it was important for the team. We will enjoy the break now and then focus on the second part of the season."

Teams will take a four-week break from racing now they're packed up in Belgium, not taking to the grid until the last weekend of August in the Netherlands.