Defiant Vasseur points to positives despite Ferrari’s double DNF

Ferrari’s Brazilian weekend began with cautious optimism ended in frustration and disbelief, as both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton failed to finish the São Paulo Grand Prix, leaving team boss Fred Vasseur clinging to whatever positives he could find from a disastrous few days at Interlagos.

The Scuderia entered the event locked in a tight constructors’ battle, but Mercedes and Red Bull emerged stronger — both teams overtaking the Italian outfit in the Constructors’ standings after a double DNF that Vasseur admitted was “very tough to take.”

Amid the wreckage, the Frenchman dug deep to highlight glimmers of promise, proving there’s fight left in the Prancing Horse yet.

“After an afternoon like this, you have to look at what were the positives from the weekend, even if it is difficult to find any when the season is coming to an end and you have a double DNF,” Vasseur explained.

“In sprint qualifying we got a decent result, in the sprint race the pace was good and qualifying went well with Charles,” Vasseur explained in Ferrari’s post-race debrief.

From Promise to Pain

Leclerc had started from third and looked poised to challenge for the podium before being caught up in the chain reaction of a Turn 1 collision between Oscar Piastri and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

The contact sent the Monegasque’s damaged SF-25 into retirement before the opening lap was complete.

“It’s been a very tough Sunday,” Vasseur admitted. “I had the feeling that, at least with Charles, we were in a good place but we paid the price for a collision between Antonelli and Piastri, which is very harsh for him and the team. He was in the right place, he was P2 and then he was out.

“It’s disappointing, because he was in a position where he could have fought for P1 or at least the podium. In a situation like this, not only are you losing points, but you are also giving points to the others.”

Hamilton’s Struggles Compound Ferrari’s Misery

While Leclerc’s exit was a cruel fate, Hamilton’s race never really got going. The seven-time champion suffered early contact with Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto, damaging his car and forcing Ferrari to make the difficult call to retire him.

“With Lewis, he lost a huge amount of downforce, either from the crash with Sainz or when he ended up with the front wing under the floor or from both incidents,” Vasseur explained.

“Lewis had good pace, but you cannot come back after two crashes. Calling him to retire was logical, as he was last and missing 30 to 40 points of downforce on the car.”

The Ferrari chief conceded the team’s efforts to rebound after a tricky Friday counted for little once both cars were sidelined.

“So, we served the penalty and then retired the car. It is very difficult to draw conclusions from this weekend because of the way it ended,” he said.

“We recovered well after a tricky start on Friday, but this result is a shame for us, a shame for the championship fight, but we now will now head home to Maranello and prepare as well as possible for the final triple-header of the year.”

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Ferrari’s double retirement drops the team to fourth in the constructors’ standings, four points behind Red Bull and 36 adrift of Mercedes.

It’s a bitter setback just as the season approaches its decisive run of three races – but Vasseur’s defiant tone made it clear that Ferrari won’t dwell on defeat.

After a bruising Sunday at Interlagos, the Scuderia may be down – but, under Vasseur’s watch, certainly not out.

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