The difference between Ferrari and McLaren is not more than a tenth per lap, says Vasseur – F1sport.cz

Ferrari boss Frédéric Vasseur claims that the gap between Ferrari and McLaren is currently around one-tenth per lap, depending on which circuit is being driven.

In the first five races, Ferrari was between the two fastest teams a total of four times, thanks to which the Italian team managed to take advantage of Red Bull’s hesitation in Melbourne to take its first win of the year.

However, in the last race in China, Ferrari was only the third best team when McLaren driver Lando Norris overtook the Italian team.

When asked whether Ferrari was a step behind McLaren in China, however, Maranello team boss Frédéric Vasseur replied that everything was mainly due to the specifics of the track in Shanghai.

“I think it’s a question of a tenth or half of it. For example, in Melbourne, after 60 laps, we reached the finish eight seconds earlier… So it’s more a question of how to get the most out of what we have,” said Vasseur, quoted by Autosport.

“It’s not like the power distribution changes massively from weekend to weekend. The changes can be related to the given track, which is being driven at the moment, but also to the asphalt, for example,” the Frenchman pointed out, pointing out that the race in China was on a surface that had unusual characteristics.

“That said, if you approach the weekend correctly and get everything right, it can make a big difference, given that we’re talking about a tenth of a difference and maybe not even that,” Vasseur noted.

“When you start from ninth position, the race is much more difficult because in the first laps you have dirty air in front of you, so even if you are faster, you have trouble overtaking. Next, you destroy your tires and you are at your wits end. I think it’s really a question of how to put everything together,” added the Ferrari boss.