Fred Vasseur and Co. Buckle Under Upgrade Quality Pressure, as F1 Pundit Dissects Spanish GP Qualifying

Ferrari might be second in the World Constructors’ Championship now, but the pressure is increasing on them. The Maranello outfit started off its 2024 season on a strong note. But that dominance seems to be crumbling now. With one victory each for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, the Scuderia had built a gap of almost 70 points to McLaren going into Barcelona. However, at the recent Spanish GP, Fred Vasseur’s team looked way less put together than its main rivals -Red Bull, Mercedes, and McLaren.

Ferrari’s SF24 might be a good enough package to run for one of the top 3 spots in the Championship. But the team, led by Fred Vasseur, is not prepared to go up against the upgrades its rivals have recently introduced. For instance, Mercedes’ fresh front wings seem to have amped up their performance. But the Scuderia’s upgrades look ineffective, as per F1 pundit Leo Turrini. So, what did the Italian say about Ferrari’s upgrades falling short of their job?

Leo Turrini does not have faith in Ferrari’s “miraculous updates”

As an F1 veteran who has seen the sport up close, Turrini does not lend an ear to unconfirmed sources. Thus, when news arrived claiming Ferrari’s updates would be the key to their improved performance, he did not believe it.

Writing for Quotidiano Nazionale, Turrini mentioned, “The two Ferraris occupy the third row [at the Spanish GP Quali]. That is, Leclerc and Sainz are behind three other teams. Here there would be a long and complicated discourse to develop on the quality, let’s call it that, of the developments that came out of the workshops in Maranello.” This shows that the 64-year-old believes Ferrari has a long way to go about improving their upgrades before they can claim they will work miraculously.

Turrini also talked about the sources that have mentioned that the Ferrari upgrades are very promising. While discussing them, he said, “I have already told several times that I do not give any credit to those who have a cousin who are friends with an employee who talks to a manager of the racing department who said that the miraculous updates will obviously work.”

The Italian isn’t ready to pay heed to statements that have no proof. He said this because the Qualifying results at the Spanish GP showed how the Ferrari upgrades lack quality as both their drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, could not impress in Barcelona.

Fred Vasseur’s recruit might be in trouble after Spain

Charles Leclerc has had an encouraging run over the last few races until his DNF in Montreal. The 26-year-old won the Monaco GP amid much applause from the Tifosi. But after the Canadian GP, he was way behind Max Verstappen. It was because he scored 0 points against Max’s 25 points at the Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve. And even at the Spanish GP, while Leclerc brought the fifth spot, his Dutch rival won the race.

Fred Vasseur’s team couldn’t help Leclerc get his rightful spot at the top of the charts. The Scuderia, despite being the oldest and most successful squad in the history of F1, has not developed quality upgrades that can stand up to the performance of Red Bull‘s RB20s. And if the team does not improve soon, Charles Leclerc will end up over a hundred points behind Max Verstappen.

Not only Verstappen, but even Lando Norris has built a 2-point advantage over Charles Leclerc. His statistics have gone through the roof this year with his maiden GP win in Miami, and podiums in Australia, China, Imola, Canada as well as in Spain. The Belgian-British driver finally surpassed Charles Leclerc on the World Drivers’ Championship table with his second place at the Spanish GP, as opposed to Charles Leclerc’s P5 finish.

Now the onus is on Leclerc to fight against the charging McLaren racer and take back his spot. Do you think, in the upcoming races, a McLaren versus Ferrari clash awaits us as Lando Norris will try to build a bigger gap to Charles Leclerc? Let us know in the comments below.