“Nothing that we can do”: Fred Vasseur gets real about Charles Leclerc’s ‘unlucky’ Imola GP

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur commented on Charles Leclerc's "unlucky" timing with the safety car in Imola as he assessed the team's pace with others on the grid. He also mentioned that the team would have to improve the qualifying pace as F1 heads to Monaco next.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were eliminated in Q2 during the qualifying session at Imola last week. While the cars seemingly lacked pace, they were able to improve on Sunday, and Hamilton crossed the chequered flag in P4 with his teammate following up in sixth place.

Apart from their race pace, Ferrari had the strategic advantage in the race, however, it was reduced by an untimed safety car that hampered Leclerc's race. Team principal Vasseur, while discussing this, mentioned that there was nothing the team could have done for it.

"Everything went well. I think Charles [Leclerc] was a bit unlucky with the timing of the Safety Car, but nothing that we can do," he said (via F1). "In the end, we have just to improve on the quali pace, because when you start at P11 and P12, it's much more difficult."

Alex Albon in the Williams was battling Leclerc for fifth position on the track after the final safety car restart. The latter had much better tires at the point. While the Monegasque was able to defend the position, Albon was able to get himself ahead in turn 1, however, Leclerc seemingly pushed a little too wide to maintain position.

With the risk of a potential penalty, the team asked him to give back the place, and he finished in sixth.

"We were clearly at risk. With five seconds, Charles would have been 10th or 11th. We had the feeling that they were more going in the direction of the penalty," Vasseur added.

F1 next heads to Monaco. The team had an excellent performance in the race last year, with Leclerc taking his first home victory. However, the chances of repeating the same success seem slim considering the team's current pace against their competitors.

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Fred Vasseur analyses Charles Leclerc's home race weekend for the team

Monaco does not provide enough overtaking action, as has been observed in the more recent years with the increasing size and weight of the Formula 1 cars. The grid set on Saturday after qualifying pretty much decides the top order, unless a driver manages to overtake or there is some incident.

Ferrari is focused on improving their qualifying performance for Charles Leclerc's home race, as Vasseur mentioned. Commenting on the car's current pace, he mentioned the "frustration" the team carries forward in the season.

"There is a bit of frustration for us. For sure, we need to put all our effort on this. Next weekend, Monaco, on Saturday evening, it will be almost done."

"We have to [have] much more performance on Saturday. Monaco is probably a bit different on tyre management. We have to do a much better job on Saturday next week," he concluded.

Ferrari currently stand in fourth place in the Constructors' Championship. The team has had an extremely difficult start to the season this time around. Although Charles Leclerc did manage to score a podium in Saudi Arabia, there is a long list of improvements the team needs to make.