Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur is looking forward to the race weekend in Shanghai, China. The Frenchman hopes to quickly put the disappointing results in Melbourne behind him with the upcoming Grand Prix. However, Vasseur predicts additional challenges during the first sprint weekend of the year, as the teams only get one practice session.
The weekend in Melbourne was one Ferrari would rather forget. The Scuderia had hopes for a good result on Friday, especially after Charles Leclerc finished the second practice session fastest. However, the Monegasque could not finish higher than eighth at the Albert Park Circuit on Sunday, while Lewis Hamilton finished his debut race in red in tenth place.
“It’s good that we’re back on track just a few days after the race in Australia,” team principal Vasseur also wants to quickly forget the Australian race weekend in the Ferrari preview. “Shanghai gives us the opportunity to turn the page and move on immediately.”
Fortunately for Ferrari, the Shanghai International Circuit is very different from the track in Melbourne. “And because this is the first sprint weekend of the season, it also means that there are more points up for grabs.” Both Scuderia drivers, Leclerc and Hamilton, are looking forward to racing in Shanghai, reveals the French team principal.
Only One Practice Session
According to Vasseur, there is one downside to the race weekend in China, and that is the shortened time for teams and drivers to get used to the circuit. “From a technical point of view, the work we did for this event in the simulator in Maranello becomes even more important,” explains the team principal. “We only have one hour of practice, one of the tasks will be to get a first impression of the track surface, which has been completely renewed for this year.”
