Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur insists Max Verstappen’s dominance is not ‘destroying’ F1

Max Verstappen’s winning streak extended to eight consecutive victories in Belgium. He has 314 points in his bag in the WDC, with no other driver even crossing the 200-point mark. This surreal domination has raised the issue of Verstappen potentially ‘damaging’ F1, but Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur disagrees with the thought.

Vasseur praised Max Verstappen’s performances, saying that they can’t complain about Red Bull and have to improve themselves. As the situation stands, Red Bull is safely in the first position, while teams like Mercedes, Aston Martin, Ferrari, and McLaren are squabbling for the second position.

“Everybody is in the same situation: we are all a bit inconsistent, with one or two-tenths between P2 and P11. It is not that Max is damaging [F1], Max is doing a fantastic job, and it is just that we have to do better. We can’t complain about Max or Red Bull,” Vasseur said in Spa.

Vasseur also said that it could not be decided who is doing more, Verstappen or his team. He also mentioned the gap between Sergio Perez and Verstappen, saying that that is Red Bull’s problem.

“It is quite impossible to split between driver and team. The driver is also developing and setting the car up, and that is part of the performance. For sure, when you see the result, and there is a big difference between the two teammates, that is not my issue, but the issue of Red Bull,” Vasseur added

In case you missed it: Christian Horner reveals why Max Verstappen’s dramatic pleas for a pit stop for the fastest lap were refused

Fred Vasseur admits Ferrari was not entirely sure of their strategy going into the race in Belgium

With the sprint weekend format in Belgium, the teams only had one practice session to try out their cars and decide on their strategy. Unfortunately for them, the practice session was interrupted by rain, leaving the teams with little to no information about the race. Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur has admitted post-race that Ferrari took a shot in the dark for the race on Sunday.

Vasseur said they had a good weekend; with Charles Leclerc’s P3 finish, their plan for Carlos Sainz did not work. Also, with the continuously changing weather predictions, it became more difficult for them to go about the race.

“We showed a good race pace, so the team had a good weekend. Of course, Carlos wasn’t that good today. We tried to keep the car in the race, but our plan didn’t work. It was very difficult to clearly understand the race because we only had one free practice, and it was in wet condition,” said Vasseur.

Keep reading:

• Toto Wolff is adamant Mercedes is on the right development path despite the return of porpoising at the Belgian GP
• Lando Norris calls McLaren’s hard tire choice at Belgian GP ‘terrible’

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