Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur admits that the Scuderia initially expected to limit damage in Montreal. Instead, the team ended the race weekend with a surprisingly strong result: a second place for Lewis Hamilton and a fourth place for Charles Leclerc. Unexpected, as Vasseur confirmed, who now turns his attention to the unique challenges of Monaco and new upgrades in Spain.
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Admittedly, Ferrari also benefited in Canada from the retirements of top drivers like George Russell and Lando Norris. Moreover, Oscar Piastri also finished outside the top ten due to a strategic error by McLaren. Still, that did not detract from Hamilton’s strong performance, who despite the limitations of the SF-26 kept fighting and in the final phase also put Max Verstappen under pressure. In an interview with Sky Sports, Ferrari team boss Frédéric Vasseur expressed himself positively surprised about the course of the weekend.
“Honestly, we did not expect to have such a strong position here in Montreal,” he admitted. “Mercedes and McLaren had brought major upgrades and we expected it to be a bit tougher. But from the first day, our pace was better than expected, and even in qualifying Lewis Hamilton fought for second place in both Q2 and Q3, which is a very positive sign. Overall, the pace was good. In the end, he even got the chance to chase Max (Verstappen, ed.) – he pushed like crazy and eventually caught him.”
Focus on Monaco and Spain
For Leclerc, the weekend went much more smoothly. He arrived in Canada with less confidence and struggled again with the car. “Leclerc had little confidence because he had also struggled here in previous years,” Vasseur explained. “He did not get the right feel in the car; even during the race there were two or three moments when he was really worried. So the most important thing is that he brought the car to the finish and scored important points.”
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With the Canadian weekend behind them, Ferrari is focusing on an important continuation of the season, with Monaco first and then Spain on the calendar. Especially the street circuit in the principality offers perspective, while in Barcelona important updates may be introduced with an eye on the development battle. “Our focus is now on Monaco, a very special circuit that requires a specific approach and a completely different preparation,” concluded the Frenchman. “After that, we go to Spain. We are working extremely hard in the factory to improve the car’s performance every weekend, and we hope that Spain will represent a big step forward.”
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