Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur has downplayed any suggestion of there being a rift between Lewis Hamilton and his race engineer Riccardo Adami, as he reflected on a Monaco Grand Prix weekend where the Scuderia performed better than anticipated, after Charles Leclerc finished just three seconds adrift of race winner Lando Norris in P2.
Coming to Monte Carlo off the back of a difficult race on home soil in Imola, where neither driver was able to make Q3, Ferrari played down their chances of a good result in Monaco. Yet as soon as Leclerc took to the track, he was fast and was only denied pole by a blistering lap from Norris.
Second place on race day was Leclerc’s best finish of the season – and his second rostrum after picking up P3 in Jeddah.
“It’s true that after Imola, the level of expectation was not mega high, because we were struggling [since] Miami, probably,” Team Principal Fred Vasseur explained.
Leclerc grabbed his second podium of the season in Monaco
“In Miami and Imola, we were struggling a lot in the low-speed corners, we were struggling in Quali. And the low-speed corners in Quali, it’s key in Monaco. That means that the level of expectation was not mega high coming to Monte Carlo.
“But it’s true also that after FP1, FP2, FP3, Q1, that the level of expectation was a bit different and we were a bit frustrated [Saturday] evening with P2. I think today, honestly, we did the job. It was difficult to expect much more starting from P2, except if something happened in front, but we can’t ask much more to Charles and to the team today.”
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Ferrari have had a number of struggles this year, both cars suffering with brake issues at times, as well as with bouncing and tyre warm up – especially in Qualifying. They have often found themselves behind some midfield cars on merit, and as such, Vasseur was pulling no punches when he analysed the first third of the season for his team.
“I think we didn’t do a mega strong first part of the season… We underperformed compared to expectations, this is mega clear and we have to be honest with ourselves.”
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But another positive from Monaco was Hamilton’s performance, as one of very few drivers who managed to make up positions in the top 10. He jumped from seventh to fifth thanks to overcutting Isack Hadjar and Fernando Alonso in the first pit stops, but found himself too far back to challenge Max Verstappen for fourth.
“He lost almost 10 seconds more than the others when he joined the group of cars who were lapped,” explained Vasseur. “I don’t remember who was in this group, but it was a difficult time for him.
“They were aware of the [lead] guys coming and a bit less with Lewis and he was alone. And compared to Verstappen who was ahead at this stage, we lost something like 10 seconds in this sequence.”
READ MORE: Hamilton brands his Monaco race ‘miserable’ after being left ‘in no man’s land’
Hamilton finished fifth in Monaco, but was a long way behind the leaders
The other thing Vasseur was asked to explain was a radio message from Hamilton to his race engineer Riccardo Adami – with Hamilton heard to ask Adami after crossing the line “are you upset with me or something?” to which he appeared to receive no answer.
But Vasseur was swift to dispel any rumours of discord between those two.
“Because when the driver is asking something between Turn 1 and Turn 3, we have to wait to the tunnel to reply, to avoid to speak with him during the corners. It’s not that we are sleeping, it’s not that we are having a beer on the pit wall, it’s just because we have a section of the track where we agreed before to speak with him.
“And honestly, it’s not a tension that the guy is asking something. He’s between the walls… he’s under pressure, he’s fighting… he’s at 300kph between the walls and I’m perfectly fine [with it],” he concluded.
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