- Login or Register
No account yet? Sign up
Following his sensational lap in Saturday's qualifying which saw Charles Leclerc claim a shock pole position for Ferrari, the Monegasque endured a heartbreaking result at the Hungarian Grand Prix despite his impressive pace during his first two stints of the race. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo delivers his latest analysis in his column branded as F1MATHS.
I don't really understand what this means, is he referring to a specific race or moment? When could have braked later at turn 1? Or is my English not Englishing today?Luscion wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025, 20:00How do you lift Hamilton's mood?
Fred Vasseur: Lewis is completely different between the TV pen, where he doesn't necessarily want to answer, and the attitude he has half an hour later with us in the debriefing, where he is much more constructive. So, it doesn't bother me at all. I think that the comment stories in the TV pen today, we take the drivers too much just after the session, and we should give them time to calm down a little, to digest the emotions.
There are drivers who are able, after qualifying P16, to say that everything is fine, and there are some who are not able. Charles, on the day he is P2, manages to say that it's not good because he would like to have more, and I understand it. And honestly, it's the best engine we have for us to have drivers who push us to the limit, who will always find what is not going (well) to try to progress, and I think it's the DNA of what we're doing, of our sport.
Whether we are first or tenth in our sport, we must always have this desire to go further and push the team further. And I honestly do the same with them. It's not because they are on pole that I will not tell them that at Turn 1 they could have braked later, and I accept criticism when it's constructive in the other direction.
Incredibly disappointing season no doubt. Especially after how 2024 ended. Expected to be a McLaren vs Ferrari battle for both titles this year, but they end it without a single win. There was so much hype in the pre season too. Just an all-round painful season, can't say much than that.SoulPancake13 wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025, 20:43One of the worst seasons in recent memory, especially after the lofty expectations given a neck and neck fight for the WCC last season. Better hope the 2026 car is good otherwise 2027 will have two new Ferrari drivers.
I think he's saying that the team as a whole are always trying to improve and push each other, that even when they're doing well there's always room for improvement and constructive input, so he understands the drivers' criticisms and welcomes it, at least that's how I read itScuderiaLeo wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025, 20:49I don't really understand what this means, is he referring to a specific race or moment? When could have braked later at turn 1? Or is my English not Englishing today?Luscion wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025, 20:00How do you lift Hamilton's mood?
Fred Vasseur: Lewis is completely different between the TV pen, where he doesn't necessarily want to answer, and the attitude he has half an hour later with us in the debriefing, where he is much more constructive. So, it doesn't bother me at all. I think that the comment stories in the TV pen today, we take the drivers too much just after the session, and we should give them time to calm down a little, to digest the emotions.
There are drivers who are able, after qualifying P16, to say that everything is fine, and there are some who are not able. Charles, on the day he is P2, manages to say that it's not good because he would like to have more, and I understand it. And honestly, it's the best engine we have for us to have drivers who push us to the limit, who will always find what is not going (well) to try to progress, and I think it's the DNA of what we're doing, of our sport.
Whether we are first or tenth in our sport, we must always have this desire to go further and push the team further. And I honestly do the same with them. It's not because they are on pole that I will not tell them that at Turn 1 they could have braked later, and I accept criticism when it's constructive in the other direction.
Ah okay, thank you. That's what I assumed but the specificness of the analogy confused meLuscion wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025, 21:00
I think he's saying that the team as a whole are always trying to improve and push each other, that even when they're doing well there's always room for improvement and constructive input, so he understands the drivers' criticisms and welcomes it, at least that's how I read it
Imo for a long time the team has had a culture problem. Almost every time something doesn't go as planed corporate fires people. Over time that creates a hostile work environment that leads to people not wanting to stick their necks out for fear of having their heads chopped off.dialtone wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025, 23:45The thing I’m a bit more disappointed in is that the technical team thought they figured it out and made a huge risky bet on the car fundamental technical underpinning and they seemingly made no effort to really test they figured it out… this type of error does feel like it’s coming from a lack of leadership, the team is strong, they just need vision and direction to not make strategic mistakes like those.
I don't think it's black and white. Some things can be helpful and others not. It also has to come from the right person. You can't avoid the tension which arises when a driver (who isn't performing) paid 20-30x your salary shows up once a month at the factory to bark orders about how things should be done simply because that's how it was at another team. It's not a matter of ego. You really have to invest time and understand how things became what they are before you can change it. It's unavoidable. This notebook could be belittling. Trying to reverse engineer Mercedes at Ferrari from a driver's point of view could be more damaging than it is useful.
It really stings Charles that Lando got a championship before him. He's facing a cloudy future... Is he just another Alesi? And one pump champ like Kimi, or the next Ferrari legend? It's a festering contemplation for him.
Feels like he tries to show them love, respect and to get the team behind him, and they just ignore him. It's cold. Not sure how a driver can work in that environment when your own engineer doesn't weven give you an opinion much less the tools you need to race.
