Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium

The United States Grand Prix was a wildly successful weekend for Ferrari, if you strictly go off the timing sheets. The newly upgraded car possessed blazing-fast race pace, tyre degradation was fully under control, and Charles Leclerc dragged his machine to a brilliant second-place finish behind Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.

But inside the Scuderia garage, there is a lingering feeling of "what if."

If just two things had gone slightly differently this weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur is convinced they would have secured a massive double podium—and potentially even the outright race victory.

During his post-race interview with Sky Sports F1, reporter Ted Kravitz suggested to Vasseur that Charles Leclerc actually had the underlying pace to win the race under different circumstances. Unsurprisingly, Vasseur completely agreed, pointing the finger at the team's Saturday performance as the root of their Sunday problems.

"Probably yes, I think that today it went well, everything went well, the pace was OK, we were aggressive with the strategy, because we had to overtake," Vasseur explained. "Overall, if we missed something, it's the last two laps in Q3 yesterday; I think it was the most important lap of the weekend probably, and it's where we had the issue."

Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari

Photo by: Anni Graf - Formula 1 via Getty Images

Because track position is absolutely king in modern Formula 1, missing that critical Q3 window meant Ferrari had to burn their tyres fighting through traffic while Antonelli cruised in clean air at the front.

Despite missing the win, Ferrari was actively hunting down Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the closing stages of the race. Lewis Hamilton was reeling in the struggling RB22 at a rapid pace, setting up a blockbuster battle for the final podium spot.

And then, the ultimate irony struck.

Valtteri Bottas suffered a mechanical failure and pulled his Cadillac over to the side of the track, triggering a late virtual safety car that completely neutralised the race and saved Verstappen's third-place trophy.

Kravitz hilariously pointed out the silver lining for Ferrari: Bottas' Cadillac uses a Ferrari power unit, but because the car couldn't be moved, it was clearly a hydraulic failure—which means it wasn't a Ferrari part that exploded.

Photo by: James Sutton / LAT Images via Getty Images

While Vasseur was likely relieved his customer engine didn't blow up, the timing of the VSC was devastating for Hamilton.

"Without the VSC, probably it would have been a double podium," Vasseur admitted, lamenting the lost opportunity. "He was closing, and then I don't know if it was P3 or P4; I don't have the crystal ball, but at the end of the day the pace was there."

Despite missing out on the double podium, Vasseur is leaving Texas feeling highly optimistic about the heavily scrutinised aero upgrade package the team brought to COTA.

"Yes, everything was OK-ish, but now for sure we have to do a better job next week," Vasseur concluded, perfectly downplaying the massive pace injection. "We have to fine-tune everything and to come back on this, but let's continue to push."

If Ferrari can clean up their Q3 execution and avoid any more poorly timed Cadillac breakdowns, they are going to be an absolute menace at the high-altitude Mexican Grand Prix next weekend.

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