F1 Japanese GP | Vasseur: "Leclerc and Hamilton know Ferrari comes first."

Suzuka – Another podium for the Classic Ferrari for sale di Fred vasseur in the third seasonal appointment. Charles Leclerc achieves a solid third position in the Japanese Grand Prix, finishing behind the winner Kimi Antonelli and of a discovery Oscar piastri su McLaren. The Monegasque proved to be one of the main entertainers of the Japanese race, pulling off some spectacular manoeuvres, including an incredible overtaking move on the outside of George Russell on turn 1.

Even on this occasion, there was no shortage of close combat with his teammate Lewis Hamilton, resolved with another masterful overtaking move on the outside of the first corner. The respect between the two Ferrari drivers, despite the intensity of the duels seen at the start of 2026, was never questioned by the management, and Vasseur himself was keen to underline the maturity of his driver pairing in managing internal hierarchies.

Vasseur: "Leclerc and Hamilton know that Ferrari comes first."

“I think all team principals would prefer to have two cars battling at the front rather than just one competitive car,” the French manager began after the race. “I'm very satisfied with the driver management; there's enormous mutual respect between Lewis and Charles. They know perfectly well that Ferrari's interests come before any personal ambitions, and they're doing excellent teamwork on the track.”

Analysing the progress of the Grand Prix, Vasseur promoted the consistency of the SF-26, while highlighting moments of strategic difficulty: “Overall it's a good weekend. Charles drove fantastically in the last two laps to keep Russell behind him. He was a bit unlucky with the timing of the Safety Car, just like George, but the overall performance remains solid. Now we have a month off ahead of us to work and come back stronger. Miami. It's crucial to consistently score points and maintain our pace in the world championship; today it's clear that we have a performance deficit on the straights that the drivers were complaining about, but this means we still have a lot of room for improvement.

Vasseur: "We won't be the only ones working during the break."

La Formula 1 is now preparing to face a month of forced break before the next appointment in Florida, due to the cancellation of the races in Bahrain e Saudi Arabia. This timeframe will allow the teams to make significant changes to the cars. Vasseur, who already at the end of qualifying had called for a sort of "new championship" starting in Miami, wanted to clarify his position to avoid misunderstandings.

“We need to be clear on this point: when I talked about a new championship in Miami, I meant that everyone will bring important update packages and will have the necessary time to work on optimizing the Power Unit software. We won't be the only ones working hard during this break. A month's break is unusual in Formula 1; everyone is pushing to improve, so I expect every team to make a step forward in performance.”

Energy management and technical development

The Team Principal then addressed the topic of tyre management and the hybrid system, explaining the different sensations reported by his drivers during the 53 laps of Suzuka: “Lewis complained about the drop in tyre performance more than Charles, and I think this is a direct effect of using the overtake mode. In this Formula 1, when you lose more than a second to the car in front of you, you end up losing the slipstream effect and the energy support of the train of cars, and that's what happened to Lewis in the duel with Norris".

Despite the technical difficulties related to the engine regulations, Vasseur said he was satisfied with the show put on by Ferrari: "We're looking for a quality show, and today we saw a lot of real battles on the track: Lewis with Norris, Charles with Russell. They are professional drivers who overtake on the limit without contact, and that's what the fans want to see. Performance-wise, we need to work on every area. We have a chronic deficit on the straights that will remain until the windows for the race open."ADUO (Additional Development Unit Opportunities), but we can still make progress on aerodynamics, suspension, and tire management. Last year, we saw too many fluctuations between Saturday and Sunday; today we have many more parameters under control and greater development potential than last season."

In conclusion, Vasseur highlighted how Mercedes is now more vulnerable in the race than in qualifying: "The trend at the start of 2026 is clear: Mercedes has less of an advantage over the long run than over the flying lap. I think it depends on managing the overtake mode; as long as you're in the fight, you can stay with them, but if the goal is to consistently stay ahead of them, we need to take another step forward. This is our goal for Miami."