‘If you’re not in the right spot, you’re nowhere’ – Fred Vasseur explains Ferrari’s Brazil tyre struggles

The Sao Paulo Grand Prix represented a disappointing weekend for Ferrari.

P8 and P9 in the final classification at Interlagos for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton showed just how difficult an event it was for a team that was disappointed to finish a close second in Mexico City just a week earlier.

In the end, the Sao Paulo result was impacted more by tyres than anything else, as not for the first time in 2026 the team struggled to get into right temperature window.

Both drivers went into the weekend knowing that they would face 10-place grid hits for taking new power unit elements, and then life was made even harder for Hamilton when an issue with his new engine in FP3 triggered a further change for Qualifying.

Only the fact that other drivers also had big penalties saw him start P20 rather than dead last, while Leclerc dropped down to P14 having originally qualified fourth.

The start was perhaps the highlight of the team’s weekend as Hamilton gained 11 places on the first lap as he charged up to an astonishing ninth place, although a few laps later had to give a spot back to Ollie Bearman for making the move off track.

However, by then he was already in trouble as he struggled to keep his intermediates in the right window, while Leclerc had similar issues, and wasn’t making much progress.

Hamilton’s tyre frustration led him to call for a change to slicks, and he was the first driver to make the switch. However, he still struggled to get the dry tyres to work, and after surviving a spin when the rain returned, he eventually finished ninth.

Leclerc did at least find some pace in the late stages, but was a little too eager to get by Liam Lawson for P7. Having made contact just before completing the pass he received a penalty that dropped him back a place in the final classification.

Team Principal Fred Vasseur confirmed that tyres had dominated Ferrari’s Sunday.

“I don’t want to speak in details of technical stuff,” said the Frenchman. “But for sure it’s a lot about tyre temperature, and in certain phases of the race or certain conditions we are struggling more.

“And yeah, there was a huge gap between the beginning of the stint of Charles on softs and last couple of laps, when he was almost as fast as the guys with new tyres.

“As usual, when you have an issue with tyres, the effect or the impact is always much, much higher than the characteristic of the car, or the upgrade that you bring. You can bring an upgrade a weekend, if you are not in the right spot with the tyres, you are nowhere because the magnitude of this is half a second, but most of the upgrades or the characteristic of the track is tenths.”

The team only briefly got it right in Interlagos: “This weekend I think we were able to be into the pace on some occasions, and some occasions we were far away.

“Then there is another issue – starting from the back with the penalty, and the fact that we are still struggling in terms of top speed. When you have only one line dry, it’s mega difficult, and we are stuck at the back.”

Vasseur conceded that the team were always on the back foot thanks to the grid penalties.

“On Friday we knew that, and then when you have to take the penalty, the approach of the weekend is a bit different.

“Friday we struggled. Saturday was much better, both conditions [dry FP3 and wet Qualifying], but I think it’s an accumulation between the mix of the top speed issue, we had to put the tyres in temperature, and we are at the back, and we are struggling. And then we are trying to find a shortcut on the strategy, and so on.”

Regarding Hamilton’s insistence on going to slicks early he said: “If you have a look, Alonso was faster on the lap after with the inter. I think we anticipated when we pitted Lewis – it was to be aggressive, and perhaps a bit too much.”

Brazil saw Mercedes claim the 2026 Constructors’ Championship, leaving Ferrari in a distant second. The wait for the first Maranello title since 2008 continues.

“I think everybody on the grid wants to win, wants to fight,” said Vasseur. “And we are all competitors, and we all want to win. When you start the championship, you have this goal.

“Now we knew from the beginning that it would be difficult for us, we understood from the first straight line, and I think the team did a good job to continue to push to develop the engine.

“I think on the chassis side, on the grip limited side, we are more than performant. But yeah, for sure, congratulations to Mercedes – and see you next year!”