Team Principal Fred Vasseur assessed Ferrari’s performance at the Japanese Grand Prix after Charles Leclerc delivered the team’s third consecutive podium with a P3 finish.
Leclerc recovered after an early pit stop and the complication of a mid-race Safety Car, fighting back to third and defending strongly from Mercedes’ George Russell in the closing laps. Lewis Hamilton could only manage sixth after losing out to McLaren’s Lando Norris; Hamilton described his weekend as “pretty terrible” following the result.
Vasseur called it “overall a good weekend,” praising Leclerc’s drive and noting the impact of the Safety Car on strategy. He highlighted a clear weakness: straight-line performance. “It was clear today that we have a deficit of performance in a straight line – they were complaining a lot, but it is like it is. We have room for improvement,” he said.
On the intra-team battle, Vasseur said he was satisfied with how the two Ferrari drivers raced. The pair made minor contact with Leclerc coming out ahead, but Vasseur emphasised the importance of getting both cars home and welcomed the competitive push between teammates. “As long as we have the two cars at the end, yes, I’m happy,” he said, adding that they show mutual respect and prioritise “Ferrari first.”
With a break before the next round in Miami, Ferrari — like all teams — will use the pause to analyse data from the first three races. Vasseur described the current phase as the beginning of the car’s homologation, meaning there are “tonnes of things to improve.” He stressed that performance gains will need to come from many areas and that success will depend on taking steps across the whole package. “Now we have good data after three races to understand the competitiveness of the car, where we are OK-ish and where we are not,” he said. “It means that performance is coming from everywhere, but we have to take a step in every single area of the performance. I am sure that it is true for us, but it will be true for everybody on the grid.”
Scuderia Ferrari leaves Suzuka encouraged by Leclerc’s podium but aware of the work required to close the gap to rivals such as Mercedes, with the team preparing upgrades and improvements ahead of the rest of the season.