Carlos Sainz Jr of Spain driving for Ferrari SF-24. 05.05.2024. The Formula 1 World Championship, Round 6, took place at the Miami Grand Prix in Miami, Florida, USA on Race Day.
Fred Vasseur expressed his frustration over the untimely appearance of the Safety Car during the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, which had a negative impact on Ferrari’s chances of winning. He jokingly admitted that he had forgotten his ability to predict the future.
On Lap 27, Carlos Sainz made the decision to pit immediately after race leader Oscar Piastri, as he had extended his initial stint, giving him an advantage in terms of tire strategy compared to his teammate Charles Leclerc and early frontrunner Max Verstappen.
A collision between Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen shortly after Sainz’s pit stop resulted in a yellow flag and subsequently a Safety Car deployment. This turn of events worked in favor of eventual race winner Lando Norris.
If Sainz had pitted just a little later, we could be discussing the first repeat winner of 2024 who isn’t named Verstappen.
Unfortunately, that was not the case, and Vasseur summed it up perfectly after the race by saying, “I forgot my crystal ball.”
“I had no idea that Sargeant and Magnussen would crash on the next lap. In this situation, it’s a bit of bad luck, or you could say that Lando was a bit lucky because he was the only one on the track.”
Vasseur not only acknowledged Norris’ fortunate circumstances but also highlighted Verstappen’s unusual misfortune as the safety car mistakenly identified him as the race leader for a brief moment before correcting the error.
“They are so accustomed to seeing Verstappen at the front of the pack that they sent the safety car ahead of him,” Vasseur remarked.
“And the safety car was quite slow, which worked out well for Lando in the end.
“But let’s not make too much of it. I believe there were four or five cars capable of winning today. Maybe even six, because Piastri had a good pace.”
Sainz finished in fourth place, trailing behind Leclerc who secured a spot on the podium in third. This was achieved despite narrowly avoiding a collision with Sergio Perez at the start of the race and engaging in a late-race battle with Oscar Piastri.
When asked if Ferrari could have performed better, Vasseur expressed uncertainty. He acknowledged that the race was quite chaotic, particularly on one side of the team’s garage. Vasseur noted that Carlos lost two positions due to the incident with Perez on the first lap and the subsequent fight with Piastri.
While there may have been expectations for a better outcome, Vasseur emphasized that it is pointless to speculate on what could have been. He highlighted the fact that the team had six cars performing at a competitive pace. Vasseur stressed the importance of a strong qualifying session, a good start, and effective strategy, including the timing of a potential safety car deployment.
Despite finishing fourth on the road, Sainz was later penalized with a five-second penalty for contact with Piastri. This demoted him to fifth place, a development that occurred after Vasseur had already addressed the media. Vasseur viewed the battle between Sainz and Piastri as an exciting one, noting that the incident at Turn 17 mirrored a previous incident initiated by Piastri.
Vasseur suggested that a collective decision should be made regarding how to handle such incidents in the future. He highlighted the similarity between the two incidents, with the exception that Piastri attempted to take the corner in the second incident.