Vasseur hands Ferrari unusual instruction ahead of key Qatar GP

Fred Vasseur has told Ferrari “now is not the time to start doing maths” as it is locked into a constructors’ championship battle with McLaren.

Vasseur’s Ferrari is just 24 points behind McLaren in the standings, but the Woking team can secure its first title since 1998 if it out-scores Ferrari by 21 points at Lusail. 

In the 2023 event, McLaren scored 47 points to Ferrari’s 13, although Carlos Sainz did not star the race itself, with the track not expecting to suit the SF-24 of Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

Looking ahead to the weekend, Vasseur just wants Ferrari to fully focus on delivering performance at the sprint weekend instead of using its abacuses to evaluate the points situation.

“The Qatar GP is the last Sprint weekend of the year which, as always means the work the teams carry out back at base takes on greater importance than usual, as there is only one free practice session,” Vasseur explained.

“There are 59 points up for grabs, but this isn’t the time to start doing the maths. All we can do is execute everything perfectly to ensure that Charles and Carlos can squeeze every last drop of performance out of the SF-24. 

“We have seen, especially in recent races, that Formula 1 as a whole is operating at a very high level right now, with the slightest detail often making the difference, turning the accepted status quo on its head.

“It’s time for one last push over these next two weekends and our drivers, engineers and everyone in the team, both at the track and in Maranello are ready to give it our best shot.”