Vasseur: Poor qualifying cost Ferrari stronger finish in Singapore

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur attributed the Scuderia’s underwhelming performance in Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix to its poor qualifying session that left Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz with an uphill battle on race day.

The Italian outfit, which had been in strong form leading up to the Marina Bay – with Charles Leclerc winning at Monza and finishing second in Baku – saw its chances for a podium finish diminished by a series of costly errors during Saturday’s crucial qualifying session.

Sainz’s crash in the top-10 shootout brought out the red flags, abruptly ending his session and relegating him to 10th on the grid.

The mishap also meant that Leclerc would only have a single flyer to secure his position on the grid. Unfortunately, an operational error saw the Monegasque take to the track on cold tyres.

While Leclerc’s only hot lap placed him seventh in the pecking order, his effort was deleted for exceeding track limits. Therefore, neither Ferrari driver registered a time in the session.

• Read also: F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2024 Singapore GP

Reflecting on the weekend, Vasseur did not hold back in his assessment of the Scuderia’s performance.

“Friday we were in a better shape than fifth and seventh, so it means that we missed something during the weekend, it’s clear,” commented the Frenchman.

“But when you start in Singapore ninth and 10th, you know you did something wrong on Saturday. It’s not the Sunday that we have to learn something. It’s more than to do a better job on Saturday.”

Vasseur’s disappointment was palpable, particularly given Ferrari’s victory at the same venue the previous year, and given that the team had identified Singapore, along with Monza and Baku, as key opportunities to score big points this season.

“Until Q2 we were on the pace with Lando [Norris] and we didn’t do a lap in Q3 with two cars,” he said. “It means that then we have to start from ninth and 10th and in Singapore, it’s almost done.”

Despite the frustrations of qualifying, Vasseur praised the team’s execution on race day. Ferrari managed to salvage fifth and seventh places with a strong race strategy, solid tyre management, and efficient pit stops.

“it was a good race,” Vasseur said. “We had a strong pace, a good start for Charles. Carlos was a little bit on the dirty side and a bit blocked, but then a good strategy, a good pitstop with tyre management in the line of the last couple of events and I think we can be pleased with this now.

“It’s probably the best that we could achieve today, perhaps we could get George [Russell]. But it was the maximum.

“We have a couple of weeks to prepare the last six and to be ready for Austin.”

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter