Despite scoring points in the latest Singapore Grand Prix, Formula One (F1) drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have found themselves in even hotter seats as Ferrari Team Principal Frédéric “Fred” Vasseur expresses his disappointment in their race performance, saying, “We didn’t extract the best from the car.”
During the qualifying session, Hamilton landed in sixth position for the race and Leclerc landed seventh. However, the race on Sunday, October 5, saw Hamilton fall back to eighth place while Leclerc made sixth place.
Vasseur said that the drivers experienced brake overheating early in the race. “For the team, it’s mega frustrating,” he said. “The team and drivers are for all of us, because we are not pushing [because of the brakes]. At the end of the day, we are putting so much effort to be there, that when you have to do all the races on the backfoot, it’s not good.”
Talking to reporters, Hamilton said, “It was an okay race. I didn’t get a great start, obviously. [The other cars] were difficult to overtake and I was kind of just stuck in position. In the end, I was catching Kimi [Antonelli] and the brakes gave up.”
Likewise, Leclerc said, “We are not strong at the moment, and we are struggling massively with the car. It’s not easy.”
After failing to make the podium for five races in a row, the Monégasque driver now seems to be losing confidence in Ferrari’s car. “I wish I could say that I’m positive for the rest of the season, [but] I don’t think there’s anything in the car that proves to me that we are going to do a step forward. I think this is the reality of our situation at the moment. I don’t quite know how to turn that situation around because we don’t have new parts or anything coming to the car.”
“I think if we can get our qualifying fixed, which is very, very hard to do against these quick cars, then maybe we can get slightly better results,” Hamilton added. “But ultimately, we’re still for fourth, fifth, sixth [places].”
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