Ferrari believes Fernando Alonso would have been more vocal about returning to the F1 GP in Qatar as he admits to being inferior to Mercedes.
Ferrari secured fifth place thanks to Charles Leclerc after Carlos Sainz was excluded from the F1 Qatar Grand Prix due to a fuel leak currently under investigation at Maranello. However, it was not an easy battle for them as they lost to Mercedes and McLaren.
The latter was more than 30 seconds behind, but the bigger disappointment was George Russell’s reversal. He moved from last place to his fourth place on his first lap and finished in front of Leclerc, although he was caught up by Monegasse.
On his way up to fifth place, Leclerc benefited when Aston Martin’s Alonso slipped and Monaco’s Alonso overtook him. The FIA took disciplinary action against him, taking into account the severity of the situation.
However, Ferrari manager Vasseur believes that if the situation had been reversed, Alonso would have been very harsh on the radio. “If it had been the other way around, Fernando would have been louder and louder on the radio, saying that his life was ‘really on the brink,'” Vasseur told the media. “I think coming out of nowhere and crossing the course at a 90-degree angle was too much.
“But it’s not my decision,” Ferrari coach summed up. Since Leclerc was less important, he escaped a higher penalty. “Yes, I was at my limit,” he said. “But again, I don’t think he saw me at any point because he was so far away. And when I came back, it’s not the best way to get back on track, but at the same time , I don’t think he knew I was there.”
However, Leclerc was further disappointed and surprised by Mercedes’ pace when Russell came back to beat Mercedes. “We didn’t start the day well because of Carlos’ problems. It was disappointing,” he said. “This way, I was able to give myself a little more leeway when it comes to driving, just in case.
“But I don’t think you could have gotten anything more out of the race. I wasn’t surprised by McLaren’s pace, they were super fast, but I expected them to be very strong on Friday. On the other hand, I’m quite surprised by Mercedes’ pace. The fact that they finished ahead of us after a first-lap crash is surprising.”
While Leclerc was surprised, Vasseur focused more on what Ferrari was missing at the Grand Prix. “Are you surprised? I don’t know, because I don’t pay attention to others. We are focused on what we have to do and in my opinion, we didn’t run a very consistent race.” he said. “We lost in the second stint due to traffic, which is what we lost at this stage of the event. Of course we can always do a better job, but let’s focus on the next stint.”
This is the FIA and drivers in the intense heat at the Qatar GP
