“Italy Had Never Experienced Such an Indignity”: Fred Vasseur Comes Under Fire by Former Bosses for Chinese GP Blunder

Ferrari endured its most embarrassing moment in years two weeks back when both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified at the Chinese GP. It was for two different reasons, and naturally, the blame fell squarely on team principal Fred Vasseur.

It wasn’t the first time a Ferrari car suffered a disqualification on Vasseur’s watch. Leclerc met with the same fate in Austin two years ago for the same reason as Hamilton in Shanghai. The incidents suggest there could be something wrong with Vasseur’s leadership.

And those who were previously associated with the team have also begun speaking out against the Frenchman. Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone revealed that he met ex-Ferrari boss Luca Cordero di Montezemolo at a party in London. Needless to say, the Italian was livid about Ferrari’s fate in China.

It is difficult for people like Montezemolo to digest the disqualification. Although he’s not the chairman anymore, he’s deeply connected to the team, as most Italians are. And watching the team he helped win championships make such costly errors made him angry.

“He was shocked by Ferrari’s double disqualification in China,” Ecclestone told Blick. “Italy had never experienced such an indignity since the start of the Formula 1 World Championship.”

Leclerc had finished the race in Shanghai in P6, with Hamilton a place ahead. However, the Monegasque’s car was found to be a kilo underweight, which, per the rules, warrants disqualification. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s skid plank, located underneath the car, exhibited excessive wear — it was 0.5 mm shorter than the permissible limit.

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Ecclestone then spoke about what Ferrari could have made Leclerc do to avoid his disqualification. “For decades, after crossing the finish line, people have tried to collect as many stones as possible with their tires by going into the gravel,” he said.

Considering that the SF-25, along with almost all cars that afternoon in China, struggled with tire degradation, this was something the Ferrari crew could have asked Leclerc to do. The gravel added to his tires could very well have taken him over the weight limit.

Vasseur, however, did not attribute Leclerc’s disqualification to tire wear alone. “The tires are only part of the explanation. We also lost a liter of water with Charles’s drink tank leaking. Disqualification for weight is always an addition of lots of small factors,” he told L’Equipe.

“…We must have been too aggressive. That’s how it is. This setback shows that we are in search of perfection and that, sometimes, we look too far,” added Vasseur.

It was a weekend to forget for the Maranello-based outfit. Ferrari’s focus has shifted to Japan. First and foremost, the team will aim to avoid a repeat of last time.

They will also hope for a better result and will plan to introduce aerodynamic changes to unlock more of the car’s true potential.