Fred Vasseur Admits Qatar Is Not the “Best Circuit” for Ferrari Amidst Hectic Title Battle With McLaren

After struggling through the middle part of the season with a lack of understanding of their upgrade packages, Ferrari has finally turned things around, having won three of the last five races. Team boss Fred Vasseur recently spoke about this uptick in performance and how they have emerged as a contender against McLaren for the constructors’ championship.

However, Vasseur believes that the penultimate race of the season in Qatar could prove tricky for them as it did last year as well. The most recent major upgrade from Ferrari, which came at the Italian Grand Prix, was specially catered toward improving the performance in straight-line and low to medium-speed cornering.

Both the tracks in Austin and Mexico had similar characteristics, which is why the SF-24 was so dominant in the last couple of races. However, the Lusail International Circuit will feature plenty of high-speed corners, something Ferrari has continued to struggle with.

Per Formu1a.uno, Vasseur remarked, “Our last important update was in Monza, a circuit with tight corners and long straights.” He then added, “It is true that Qatar is not our best circuit on paper, but let’s not jump to conclusions. We will still have to do everything we can to maximize the result based on our potential.”

With just 29 points difference between McLaren at the top and Ferrari in second place, the Italian team is not only in the hunt for the 2024 constructors’ title, but their resurgence has also cost Norris in his battle for the drivers’ title against Max Verstappen.

Norris’ chances of his first championship are slipping away

With Red Bull and Max Verstappen struggling to find their race-winning form in the last 10 races as compared to early in the season, Norris had the perfect opportunity to capitalize on his rivals’ weaknesses by winning the majority of those races.

However, Ferrari’s recent resurgence has meant that Norris and McLaren have not been able to win as many races as they should have. Since the summer break, the Briton had to close down the gap to Verstappen by almost eight points per race, which he has failed at.

With just four races remaining in the 2024 season and only 120 points on offer, Norris needs to win all the races with the hopes that the Ferraris and his teammate Oscar Piastri would take away as many points from Verstappen as possible if he is to win the drivers’ championship from here on out.