Fred Vasseur: Ferrari ‘disenchanted’ to not podium for Tifosi

Ferrari staff principal Fred Vasseur stated he was disenchanted to not ship a podium to the staff’s dwelling followers on the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Despite exhibiting promising tempo in follow at Monza, Charles Leclerc certified and completed fourth on Ferrari’s dwelling soil whereas Lewis Hamilton recovered from a five-place grid penalty to safe sixth place from tenth on the grid.

Leclerc completed the race 4 seconds adrift of Oscar Piastri’s McLaren in third, however was 25 seconds shy of race winner Max Verstappen.

“I think today that first it’s a shame and I’m disappointed to not be able to bring a podium to the Tifosi, because when you see [the fans on] the start and finish line and the podium, it would have been magic and they deserve it,” Vasseur stated.

“But I think we are close to the McLaren today. It’s probably the smallest gap of the season. I think that Max was outstanding.

“From the primary lap to the final lap, he was there, he was flying and he was a lot sooner than us. But total, I believe in comparison with Mercedes and to McLaren, we did our job. It’s not sufficient, however we did our job.”

Vasseur was keen to point out that the margins were small throughout the weekend, not just in practice.

“I believe we’re one tenth off the primary row [of the grid] yesterday,” He said. “Even in case you play otherwise with the engine modes, the gas and so [in practice], we’re talking about 3-4 kilos of gas, this we by no means know.

“But it’s true also that even in the race it’s the smallest gap with McLaren, it was also the smallest gap in FP3, the smallest gap in qualifying, in FP1, and I think we are in better shape this weekend.

“It’s not sufficient as a result of they’re in entrance of us, however I believe at the very least we closed the hole this weekend.”