F1 Austin GP: Fred Vasseur Cautiously Optimistic as Ferrari Halves Gap and Regains Confidence

After a frustrating start to the weekend, Ferrari bounced back dramatically during qualifying for the United States Grand Prix, cutting its deficit to the front-runners by more than half in just 24 hours. From a gap of over eight-tenths of a second on Friday, the Scuderia closed to within two and a half tenths of the leaders on Saturday — a turnaround that left team principal Frédéric Vasseur visibly encouraged, if still cautious about Ferrari’s podium prospects.

“Satisfied? Yes and no,” Vasseur told Canal+ after the session. “Yes, because we are coming back. No, because I think we could have done better. But this result does the team good after the difficulties we’ve had.”

From Struggles to Stability in 24 Hours

The transformation in Ferrari’s form between Friday and Saturday was both unexpected and morale-boosting. After Friday’s practice sessions, both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton (in his first season with Ferrari) expressed frustration over poor grip and inconsistent pace, particularly in the car’s handling through the high-speed first sector at Circuit of the Americas.

Leclerc had finished practice trailing the front by more than eight-tenths, while Hamilton hovered in the midfield — a sign of Ferrari’s continuing difficulty in extracting one-lap performance from its SF-25 car. But by Saturday, everything changed.

Ferrari benefited from reopening parc fermé after the Sprint Race, allowing engineers to tweak car settings overnight. Combined with improvements in tire preparation and warm-up strategies, the team found much stronger performance during qualifying.

“The key difference was how we prepared the tires for the flying lap,” explained Vasseur. “The car has potential, but it’s extremely sensitive. When we get the tire window right, we can fight near the front; when we miss it, we fall behind the midfield.”

Tire Management: Ferrari’s Double-Edged Sword

Vasseur emphasized that Ferrari’s weekend-to-weekend performance swings often come down to tire management rather than car upgrades. The SF-25, while capable of bursts of speed, has proven unpredictable across different sessions.

“This aspect explains the oscillation in performance much more than the car’s potential itself,” Vasseur said. “It’s not about reinventing the car — it’s about optimizing its consistency from Q2 to Q3.”

Leclerc admitted that even he was surprised by how competitive Ferrari suddenly became in qualifying.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect this kind of improvement,” Leclerc said after securing a top-five grid slot. “We didn’t make any big changes to the car, so I think it’s all down to the way we managed the tires and the conditions. It’s encouraging, but we need to understand it better.”

Hamilton, meanwhile, echoed his teammate’s sentiment but remained grounded.

“We’ve made progress, but there’s still a lot to figure out,” Hamilton said. “It’s been an up-and-down weekend, but at least the direction is right.”

Sprint Race Recap: Progress with Caveats

Saturday’s morning Sprint Race offered another glimpse into Ferrari’s mixed fortunes. Both Leclerc and Hamilton finished fourth and fifth respectively, aided by a double retirement for McLaren. While the result brought valuable points, both drivers complained about the car’s behavior in traffic.

Hamilton, in particular, reported heavy understeer — a common issue for the Ferrari in turbulent air.

“Understeer happens just six car lengths behind someone,” Vasseur explained post-race. “It’s true for Lewis because he was always a second behind Carlos [Sainz]. When you follow closely, you lose front downforce and balance shifts dramatically. Alone, the car feels fine — but in traffic, it changes completely.”

Despite the handling issues, Vasseur noted that Hamilton’s race pace was encouraging.

“Lewis was faster than Carlos in clean air,” he said. “If there had been one more lap, maybe he could have passed. That’s a positive sign.”

Podium Hopes: “We’ll See”

Heading into Sunday’s race, Vasseur remained measured in his outlook. While encouraged by Ferrari’s qualifying performance, he refused to make bold predictions.

“Mercedes was very strong in the Sprint, and McLaren’s pace is still a question mark,” Vasseur said. “We have to stay focused. The goal is to maximize points — we’ll see where we stand by the end.”

He added that the weekend’s progress was a much-needed morale boost after Ferrari halted development on the SF-25 months earlier to shift focus toward its 2026 car project.

“It’s frustrating because we stopped development early,” Vasseur admitted. “But what we’ve seen today shows that the foundations of the car are still strong. That helps keep motivation high.”

Cautious Optimism at Maranello

Ferrari’s internal mood, while improved, remains cautious. The team knows its performance gains are still fragile — dependent on tire conditions, track temperature, and qualifying execution. But Saturday’s rebound showed resilience and teamwork at a critical point in the season.

For Vasseur, the takeaway was psychological as much as technical.

“This result does the team good,” he said with a rare smile. “It reminds everyone that we’re not far off when we get the details right.”

As the Austin Grand Prix looms, Ferrari’s mission is simple: consolidate their gains, minimize errors, and translate Saturday’s promise into Sunday’s podium potential.

And though Fred Vasseur won’t say it outright, the message is clear — Ferrari might not be back to its best yet, but for the first time in weeks, it’s finally heading in the right direction.