Vasseur: Leclerc had the pace to win the Spanish Grand Prix

Fred Vasseur believes Charles Leclerc had the pace to win the Spanish Grand Prix, with the Ferrari team principal arguing that a second major race interruption could have transformed the team’s bold strategy into victory.

Leclerc then maintained a consistent gap to Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli while Ferrari waited for the interruption that would have made a pit stop effectively free. However, neither a Safety Car nor a red flag arrived. After almost 50 laps on the hard compound, Leclerc was finally called into the pits, dropping out of podium contention. He finished 29.116 seconds behind Antonelli and narrowly kept George Russell behind him to secure fourth.

Vasseur said the strategy exposed both Ferrari’s race pace and the risk attached to its decision. “The pace of Charles in the race was more than good – we did a stint of 49 laps I think with the hard and the pace was still there.” He added: “He was leading the group of [drivers on] hards and I think with a second incident, a red flag, it was the win.”

The outcome would have been different even with a Safety Car, according to Vasseur, who estimated that Leclerc would have finished second or third. He maintained that Ferrari’s Sunday performance was not the main concern, pointing instead to qualifying as the area where the team had missed an opportunity.

Hamilton’s brake failure ends Ferrari’s second challenge

Hamilton’s race lasted only briefly after a brake issue forced his retirement, his first DNF of the season. He made an aggressive launch and immediately challenged Max Verstappen for third, with Verstappen giving up the position after cutting the first corner.

Hamilton soon fell back after reporting that the brake pedal was going long and that he could not stop the car properly. He returned safely to the garage, later saying Ferrari had a car capable of fighting for victory. Vasseur said the problem appeared at the end of the opening lap, returned several corners later and was too risky to continue with 56 laps still remaining.

Ferrari’s post-race review will focus on the brake failure, while Leclerc’s performance offers evidence that the team’s race pace was strong even though its strategy required an incident that never came. Read more about the issue in Ferrari’s investigation into Hamilton’s brake failure.