Vasseur: Ferrari won’t overreact after ‘everything went wrong’ in Canada

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur acknowledged that “everything went wrong” in a disastrous Canadian Grand Prix, but insisted his squad wouldn’t overreact to the disappointing weekend.

Heading into the Montreal weekend, Ferrari was considered a favorite for victory by several rivals. However, both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz failed to qualify in the top 10 in the low-grip conditions.

Despite starting from disadvantaged positions, the race, which transitioned from wet to dry, still offered opportunities for both drivers to improve, but they fell short.

Leclerc encountered serious engine issues from the second lap, forcing him to pit for a restart, which put the Monegasque a lap down and ultimately led to his retirement.

Sainz suffered front wing and floor damage earlier on due to a collision with Valtteri Bottas. Although he managed to gain some pace on slick tires, the Spaniard spun and hit Williams’ Alexander Albon as the track dried.

Admitting that “everything went wrong” in Canada, Vasseur particularly highlighted Leclerc’s power unit issue, which resulted in a loss of 80 horsepower and was the most frustrating aspect of the day.

“Charles lost part of his power on lap two,” Vasseur explained. “We were hoping for a red flag to do a power cycle, try to recover it, but the red flag didn’t come.”

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

“It was not only the engine itself, I think it was a control issue, and we had to stop completely the engine. We did one cycle, but it took 30 to 40 seconds.”

“For Charles, when you’re in the car, fighting with opponents, and you realize you have 10 or 15 less horsepower per hour, you don’t have a chance to overtake. And when your engineer tells you that you’re missing 80 horsepower, I can totally understand that it’s difficult to find motivation in this situation. If he wasn’t frustrated in this case, I would be worried.”

Sainz also endured a frustrating afternoon, unable to make significant progress before his retirement. The main damage, however, was done in qualifying, with Leclerc and Sainz starting from P11 and P12 respectively.

Vasseur said the team had a clearer understanding of why it lacked pace in the wet, low-grip conditions and remained optimistic about its race pace before the disaster struck.

“We had strong race pace on Friday. Yesterday was tricky, a few cars had similar issues. I won’t go into details, but we were confident in our speed on Sunday,” he explained.

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

“It was not only the engine itself, I think it was a control issue, and we had to stop completely the engine. We did one cycle, but it took 30 to 40 seconds.”

“For Charles, when you’re in the car, fighting with opponents, and you realize you have 10 or 15 less horsepower per hour, you don’t have a chance to overtake. And when your engineer tells you that you’re missing 80 horsepower, I can totally understand that it’s difficult to find motivation in this situation.”

“If he wasn’t frustrated in this case, I would be worried.”

Sainz also experienced a disappointing afternoon, failing to make up ground significantly before his retirement. The bulk of the losses came in qualifying, where Leclerc and Sainz started from 11th and 12th respectively.

Vasseur indicated that the team had a better grasp of why it struggled in the wet, low-traction conditions and remained upbeat about its pre-disaster race rhythm.

“We had strong race pace on Friday. Yesterday was tricky, a few cars had similar issues. I won’t go into details, but we were confident in our speed on Sunday,” he concluded.