Eight tenths behind, Ferrari officially admits its powerlessness against Mercedes
After the major disappointment in Q3, Valterri Bottas relegating Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari to 8 tenths of a second, the Ferrari drivers still cannot find a reason for this failure other than simply the superiority of Mercedes!
Eight-tenths of a second behind for Vettel, more than a second conceded to Leclerc, against Mercedes, this gap is usually experienced by a team like Red Bull. This time, it’s Scuderia Ferrari itself paying the price! Since the European Grand Prix in Baku 2017, Ferrari has never had such a gap to Mercedes at the end of qualifying!
Before the first laps in Montmelo, Scuderia Ferrari harbored this ambition: to close the gap with Mercedes, who have been dominant since the start of the season. To face this challenge, and as announced by Mattia Binotto, the Italian team has accelerated the development pace at the factory so the new specification of their engine would be ready ahead of schedule, a specification finally integrated for this Spanish Grand Prix.
It is clear that despite Ferrari’s progress, Mercedes continues to prove the supremacy of its machine, especially in the last, more winding sector.
Powerless, Vettel confirmed the problem as he got out of the car: the last sector is indeed our Achilles’ heel. I spoke to Valtteri (note: Bottas) and Lewis (note: Hamilton). They are both happy with their car, especially in this sector.
Despite this underperformance, Vettel nevertheless tried everything during this qualifying session:
I think I did the maximum with the car in the first run. I tried something different in the second run, but it didn’t work.
Regarding the other SF90, Charles Leclerc’s, it was outpaced by Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. The Dutchman is becoming increasingly threatening, to the point of being well-positioned to secure another fourth place at the finish.
Also disoriented, Charles Leclerc could only note the gap with Mercedes.
« Honestly, Mercedes has been fast since free practice. We knew they would be fast in qualifying… but the gap is huge! »
Probable factor in his lack of rhythm, this aggressive passage over the curb of the ninth turn in Q2.
Unfortunately, I did not expect at all to lose such a big part on this vibrator, the Monegasque noted, adding: I must have arrived a bit faster than usual or I must have taken the turn differently! My Q2 was difficult and my Q3 is a question mark: I think it played a part.
From our special correspondent in Barcelona (Montmelo)
