Amid Sandbagging Accusations from Red Bull Rivals, Ferrari Boss Sets the Record Straight

Ferrari had unexpected success during the Mexico City Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday as they locked out the front row. Charles Leclerc grabbed pole while Carlos Sainz registered the second-fastest lap time. Since both Ferraris were quicker than three-time world champion Max Verstappen, Red Bull believes that the Italian outfit were just sandbagging. However, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has now hit back and explained how their success was completely unexpected.

While speaking to Sky Sports F1, the Frenchman said (as quoted by formulapassion.it), “I honestly didn’t expect this improvement. I would be dishonest if I said otherwise. Yesterday we went badly. This morning we were in better shape, but we also suffered some impediments“.

Both Leclerc and Sainz indeed struggled throughout the three practice sessions. The quickest the Monegasque went in any of the practice sessions was third-fastest, while the Spaniard only managed seventh-fastest. Since the Prancing Horse were so much off the pace during the practice sessions, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko claimed they were sandbagging.

While speaking to ORF (as quoted by Junaid), the Austrian said, ” I think Ferrari is here with the engine power. They were bluffing in practice and were now very strong. It’s a surprise“. Soon after, Verstappen also gave his take on why he lost out on pole to the two Ferraris.

Helmut Marko told ORF: “Max had a small problem in turns 13 and 14 and lost about 1.5 tenths in both runs. Yes, but I think Ferrari is here with the engine power…they were bluffing in practice and were now very strong. It’s a surprise.”https://t.co/wBvTAwTp6l

— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) October 29, 2023

Max Verstappen explains Red Bull’s struggles against Ferrari

Since Ferrari surprised the whole paddock by locking out the front row in Mexico, Max Verstappen was asked during the post-qualifying press conference to share his thoughts about the same. In reply, the Dutchman stated that since he is not a part of the Prancing Horse, he does not know how much pace the Italian outfit had this weekend.

However, the 26-year-old did admit that he expected Red Bull’s pace “to be a little bit better“. Verstappen believes that since they did not make significant improvements from Q1 to Q3 with the track evolution, it resulted in him losing out on pole position.

Even though Verstappen lost out on pole, he does believe he has the advantage going into the race. The Red Bull driver stated that since he is the only driver who has two hard compound tires, he will have various options during the race.

As for Ferrari, they have the option of splitting the strategies for their two drivers as they lock out the front row. The same will give Red Bull and Verstappen another task of coming up with the best strategy themselves to grab the race win.