Formula 1 won another case for the sporting commissioners during the Belgian GP weekend. Ferrari is under investigation by the FIA in Spa-Francorchamps, and the team principal, Fred Vasseur, has already admitted that he expects a penalty after a tire-related infraction.
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According to the French executive, the Italian team does not believe it will suffer any sporting impact over the weekend. The expectation is that the case will be resolved with a financial fine, without consequences for the starting grid.
Ferrari was charged with an alleged violation of article 6.4.2 of the sporting regulations. The rule states that any set of tires returned electronically must also be physically delivered to the supplier before the start of the next session.
Although the team correctly completed the electronic procedure after TL1, the tires were not delivered to Pirelli before the start of TL2. The failure led the FIA commissioners to open an investigation during Friday’s activities in Spa.
“We were late. It will be a fine,” said Vasseur after the end of the second free practice session. The Ferrari boss showed calm when commenting on the matter and did not indicate concern about possible harsher sanctions.
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On track, Ferrari had a mixed performance throughout the day. Lewis Hamilton finished TL2 in fourth position, while Charles Leclerc was only 11th, highlighting performance differences between the two sides of the garage.
When evaluating the work done in Spa, Vasseur emphasized that reading the times still requires caution: “It went very well this morning. A bit more difficult in the afternoon, but that is relative. We know that fuel is very important in terms of competitiveness,” he added.
The executive stressed that it is still early to compare Ferrari’s performance with that of the rivals: “That means we cannot compare ourselves with others. We are focused on ourselves, trying to extract the maximum from the car, and we will see tomorrow,” concluded the Frenchman.
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