Ferrari team principal Fred Wasser says the suspension upgrades introduced in Belgium can offer another step in performance if further optimized at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ferrari ran a new rear suspension over the sprint weekend at Spa Franco Champs despite limited practice time before qualifying for the sprint on Friday afternoon. Following the podium by Charles Leclair, Vasseur will go from seventh to seventh from the pit lane at Lewis Hamilton, Vasseur will bring new parts to Belgium and say he will put his team in a better position for hangering this weekend.
“I think we have to fine-tune the situation,” Vasser said. “It’s not easy to showcase anything on the sprint weekend, but I didn’t want to postpone it to Budapest.
“The fact that in the weekend format there is no long stints on Friday or no long stints of four laps is not easy to have references, etc. But in the end, that’s the best preparation for us too.
Vasseur says that these major mechanical upgrades are not an immediate improvement, unlike some aerodynamic additions that allow for loading without affecting the handling characteristics of the vehicle.
“It’s true that there are upgrades during the season that’s been rewarding from lap 1, and there are a few other things that need to be fine-tuned and understand the behavior accurately to understand the correlation with brakes, ride height and more,” he said. “We are still in this process.
“If I had to choose, certainly I would have had a spa as a regular weekend and would have hoped to do it in stages with some sort of slow introduction, but I have not selected a calendar and in the end it is the best choice to do it and I think it’s the best preparation for Budapest.”