Fred Vasseur has called for more consistency from Ferrari following the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, as Charles Leclerc grabbed the team’s first Grand Prix podium of the season in Jeddah.
Ferrari’s start to the 2025 F1 season has not been as successful as was hoped prior to the first race in Australia, with the team being let down by Qualifying performances. While Leclerc has shown better one-lap pace across the last two weekends – qualifying in P4 in both Bahrain and Jeddah – his seven-time World Champion team mate Lewis Hamilton has struggled comparatively on Saturdays.
From his fourth-placed starting spot in Saudi Arabia, Leclerc managed his race strategy, extending his opening stint on the medium tyre and showing decent speed on the hard compound, as he came home in third.
And, while the result indicates progress for the Scuderia, Vasseur admitted there is still plenty of work ahead for the squad.
Leclerc grabbed Ferrari’s first podium of the season in Saudi Arabia
“Even on the hard at the end [Leclerc] was very strong but from the beginning, the first couple of laps, he was a bit conservative,” explained Vasseur following the race in Jeddah.
“He knew that strategy was to extend and he did very well from Lap 1 to the end but I think he push every single lap as a quali lap and it went very well in terms of tyre management. I think we can build up the rest of the season perhaps on this weekend but, for sure, we have to be more consistent.
“We missed more than P3 in quali yesterday and when you start P4 then you have dirty air, and it is more difficult… It’s good but as I always see also the negative side of this, we have to improve the quali as that starting from a better position could be much better.”
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Vasseur’s call for consistency also applies to Hamilton, with the Briton finishing the race in Jeddah down in seventh place, the same spot in which he started.
The former World Champion showed decent pace at the start of his second stint, and some good race craft to keep Lando Norris at bay for a handful of laps, but ultimately did not have the pace to fight further forward.
“I’ve had a very quick discussion with Lewis, it was very difficult for him,» Vasseur explained. «It was a bit inconsistent, even in the race because he had a good stint, a good first part of the second stint.
«But we have to be more consistent from Friday morning, to the laps in quali to start in a better position, because the potential is there for sure. It is the consistency for us.»
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