Ferrari has improved its automobile to the purpose it has the tempo to combat with McLaren at occasions all through the remainder of the 2025 season however can’t match McLaren’s consist type, in line with staff principal Fred Vasseur.
Lando Norris led residence a McLaren one-two within the Hungarian Grand Prix earlier than the beginning of the summer season break, however Charles Leclerc had secured Ferrari’s first pole place of the season and led the opening two stints of the race. A lack of efficiency within the remaining stint spoiled Leclerc’s hopes and he ended up ending fourth, however after a podium in Belgium – the place the Ferrari additionally certified within the high three – Vasseur sees the outright efficiency being near McLaren.
“It is mega troublesome to foretell, additionally as a result of I feel the image of at some point isn’t essentially true the following weekend,” Vasseur mentioned. “However a minimum of I’d say that the final two [races] that we’re again on the tempo.
“We’re persistently on it – not the final stint; I am not fully silly, guys – we’re fairly constant on the tires, we’re in a position to handle the tempo and if we’re again in qualifying, it means that we’ll combat with them.
“I feel that the benefit that they’ve as we speak is that they’re at all times there – it does not matter [the conditions]. OK, in qualifying we have been a bit quicker, but it surely was marginal and they’re performing in each single situation after we are a bit extra inconsistent through the weekend.
“We should be very constant in each single situation. Within the free apply to have a superb preparation for the race, in Q1, Q2, Q3, with all of the units within the race, with the totally different compounds and so forth. I feel it is the place as we speak they’re a bit extra performant than us.”
Whereas Vasseur says it’s robust to totally analyze Ferrari’s relative race tempo in opposition to McLaren in Budapest as a result of monitor place, he believes there have been indicators that it was a real match, which solely provides to the frustration of the late drop-off in efficiency.
“To begin with, I feel you need to additionally preserve the soiled air in thoughts. You do the pole place, it is at all times a bit simpler to remain in entrance than to be behind,” he mentioned. “I do not know if the hole within the first stint is 2 tenths with [Oscar] Piastri or it is one tenth, however on this magnitude, I feel the tempo was there.
“We have been even in a position to prolong slightly bit after we have been below strain with the pit cease. It implies that we had the tempo at this stage to do one or two tenths kind of. I feel this a part of the race went very nicely for us, that it was actually below management, that we did not have the sensation to push an excessive amount of. We have been even in a position to prolong, however we did not lose the consistency and the tires in any respect.
“That implies that it is even worse for the frustration, as a result of if within the first stint you’re main like this and you need to pit on lap 12 as a result of you don’t have any tires anymore, it is, ‘OK, I pushed an excessive amount of.’ However it was not the case in any respect – we stopped simply to keep away from the undercut, however we might have completed a few laps extra on the similar tempo. It is irritating.”
