Ferrari’s recent resurgence has sparked conversations of an unlikely Formula 1 title challenge, but team principal Fred Vasseur insists it is still too early.
The Italian outfit has claimed victory in two of the past three grands prix through outright pace, with Charles Leclerc ending a frustrating spell of poor fortune by taking his first win of the season at Silverstone.
That followed Lewis Hamilton’s breakthrough triumph for Ferrari in Barcelona after the team introduced an extensive upgrade package at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Despite the momentum, Vasseur pointed to Ferrari’s difficult Austrian Grand Prix weekend, which came between those victories, as proof the team’s form remains unpredictable.
He said he avoided being overly critical after Austria and will not become carried away following the morale-boosting success in Britain.
Ferrari remain 78 points adrift in the constructors’ standings, while Hamilton is 32 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli after the Mercedes rookie failed to score at Silverstone. Team-mate George Russell is also ahead, although more than half the season is still to come.
Vasseur also expects the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps to pose a different test despite similarities with Silverstone, adding that Mercedes’ W17 remains the benchmark package in most conditions.
“After Barcelona, I had the comment ‘Ah, Ferrari is back in the championship’. I said no,” he said. “The week after you told me Ferrari is nowhere. I said no.
“I will have exactly the same approach with everybody at home. To say: ‘Guys, we had a good weekend. Now let’s be focused on Spa. It’s not that we are champions. We are [also] not nowhere. We are improving step by step. It is like it is.
“I never try to draw a conclusion after one race, two races, a good result, a bad result. I’m just focused on doing more and to do better. It’s true for me, it’s true for everybody at the factory. Then it’s your job to speak about the championship, but I never did it.
“I think Mercedes, honestly, they still have a small advantage on pure performance.
“If you have a look at the six, seven sessions that we did this weekend, they are probably five times ahead.
“Next week will be another challenge in Spa. Firstly, the weather will be quite a bit different. But we have to start from scratch every single weekend.
“There is nothing magic. We can’t imagine making a step of five, six tenths in one weekend. It’s just the addition of small gains everywhere that will make the difference.”
