Formula 1 had an intense battle between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in the final part of the 2026 Chinese GP, and Fred Vasseur made it clear that he liked what he saw. The Ferrari boss stated that the internal duel was positive not only for the Italian team but also for the category itself.
Read more F1: Gasly celebrates double points for both Alpine cars and consistent pace
The official’s statement draws attention because, in similar situations, many teams usually freeze positions to avoid unnecessary risks and secure the points already earned. At Ferrari, this type of order has happened before, but this time the team chose to let the two drivers fight freely.
In Shanghai, the situation seemed relatively controlled for Ferrari in the middle of the race. Without incidents, the team had third and fourth places practically secured, which would pave the way for a more conservative approach from the pit wall.
Even so, the team did not interfere in the battle between its two drivers. Hamilton and Leclerc continued fighting for position until the end, with both driving at the limit and without giving an inch in the battle for a podium spot.
Asked by Sky Sports about how he experienced that moment, Vasseur replied in a humorous tone. “I checked my Whoop and everything was fine,” he joked, referring to the physical monitoring device he uses daily.
Later, the official explained more clearly why he preferred not to interfere. According to him, besides fully trusting both drivers, freezing the battle would be unfair given what both had been doing in the race.
“I trust them, and of course it’s always tricky because it’s hard to hold them back, but I don’t want to ask to freeze positions, and I think that would be unfair,” he stated. For Vasseur, the fact that both are professionals allowed the battle to be kept within acceptable limits.
In the Ferrari boss’s view, this type of battle adds value on different fronts. “It’s good for the team, it’s good for Formula 1, and I would prefer it to stay that way,” he declared.
Read more F1: Mekies highlights reliability issues and does not speak to the press after the Chinese GP
The race also marked an important moment for Hamilton. By finishing in the top three, the Briton finally achieved his first podium for Ferrari after a long wait.
Vasseur compared this step by Hamilton to the moment experienced by Kimi Antonelli, who won for the first time in Formula 1 on the same Sunday. According to the official, both events carry significant weight, albeit for different reasons.
“I think it’s an important step, just like for Kimi. Not for the same reasons, but it’s important, and I’m sure this will help us come back,” he said. Even so, he made it clear that Ferrari knows exactly who the benchmark to chase is at this moment.
“Now the target is Mercedes,” he stated. For the head of the Italian team, despite the positive weekend, the gap to the German cars is still significant. “It was a good weekend overall, but we are still well behind Mercedes. We are still between four and five tenths behind, and that is a lot.”
Speaking about how to reduce this gap, Vasseur rejected the idea of looking for a single, miraculous solution. According to him, Ferrari is not focused only on the power unit, but on various areas of the car.
“We are not just working on the power unit, we are working on everything,” he stated. “We are not going to find a five-tenth silver bullet. I think it’s better to try to find five points of one tenth,” he concluded.
Read more Antonelli and Hamilton: extremes of the same Formula 1
