‘I prefer to be second than fourth’ – Vasseur bullish as Ferrari jump Mercedes and Red Bull in the standings

Fred Vasseur, team principal of Ferrari, expressed mixed emotions after Charles Leclerc's impressive climb from seventh to third at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Monegasque driver secured back-to-back podiums, propelling Ferrari to second in the Constructors' standings, ahead of Mercedes. While Vasseur acknowledged the significant improvement from earlier in the season – noting they were once 50-60 points behind Mercedes and Red Bull – he cautioned against complacency. McLaren's dominant performance on track and substantial lead in the championship remain a concern, emphasizing Ferrari's ultimate goal of winning races, not just securing second place. Leclerc's strategic advantage with fresh medium tires and a strong recovery from a challenging qualifying session were key. Vasseur also addressed Lewis Hamilton's 'disaster' comment, attributing it to a late-race car issue rather than driver performance, highlighting Hamilton's strong run ahead of George Russell for much of the race. The team principal dismissed the incident between Leclerc and Max Verstappen during the safety car restart as a non-event, defending his driver and asserting Ferrari's focus remains squarely on challenging McLaren for race victories.