Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has called on his crews to shift their focus away from championship calculations and concentrate solely on achieving perfection at the penultimate round of the Formula 1 season in Qatar.
The Scuderia enters the Lusail weekend in a tight constructors' championship battle with McLaren, trailing by 24 points with 59 still available.
McLaren, however, has a chance to seal the fight this weekend if it outscores Ferrari by 21 points, raising the stakes for both teams. Reflecting on the challenge ahead, Vasseur emphasized the importance of execution over analysis.
“The second race in this final triple-header of the season sees us go from the cold of the desert around Las Vegas, where we reduced the gap to McLaren in the championship to 24 points, to the much warmer climate of Lusail,” Vasseur remarked, highlighting the dramatic shift in conditions.
Adding to the challenge is the significant difference in track characteristics.
“Apart from the change in temperature, the tracks themselves could not be more different, as we go from one with right-angle turns and long straights to now race on a track with many high-speed corners, which on paper doesn’t play to our strengths,” he said.
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The Qatar Grand Prix also marks the final Sprint weekend of the year, further complicating Ferrari’s preparations.
“The Qatar GP is the last Sprint weekend of the year which, as always, means the work the teams carry out back at base takes on greater importance than usual, as there is only one free practice session," Vasseur explained.
With limited time to fine-tune the car, teams must arrive at Lusail well-prepared to adapt quickly.
Despite the championship stakes, Vasseur insisted that Ferrari must focus on delivering their best performance rather than getting bogged down by points calculations.
"There are 59 points up for grabs, but this isn’t the time to start doing the maths,” the Frenchman said. “All we can do is execute everything perfectly to ensure that Charles and Carlos can squeeze every last drop of performance out of the SF-24."
The Ferrari boss also acknowledged the razor-thin margins in modern Formula 1, where small errors can have significant consequences.
"We have seen, especially in recent races, that Formula 1 as a whole is operating at a very high level right now, with the slightest detail often making the difference, turning the accepted status quo on its head," Vasseur noted.
With just two weekends left in the season, Vasseur rallied his team for a strong finish.
“It’s time for one last push over these next two weekends, and our drivers, engineers, and everyone in the team, both at the track and in Maranello, are ready to give it our best shot," he concluded.
With Vasseur urging his team to set aside distractions and focus on perfection, Ferrari’s performance in Qatar could hinge on its ability to rise to the occasion in a high-pressure, high-stakes, blazing hot weekend.
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