Ferrari pinpoints 'vital' Dutch GP difference-maker

Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur has told the team that qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix will be "vital" given the nature of the Zandvoort circuit. 

The Scuderia scored pole position last time out in Belgium when Charles Leclerc was promoted to P1 after Max Verstappen's grid penalty, going onto finish third after George Russell was disqualified.

Ferrari's form dipped towards the summer break as it struggled to overcome porpoising which it has suffered since an upgrade at the Spanish Grand Prix, but had made steps forward to eradicating the issue and getting back into the mix at the head of the field.

Looking ahead to F1's return from the summer break at Zandvoort, Vasseur has pinpointed qualifying as the key to unlocking the rest of Ferrari's weekend. 

"Just before the summer break, the team as a whole performed well in the Belgian Grand Prix, securing pole position and a podium finish with Charles, which was a real confidence booster," he said.

"Now we go racing once again at Zandvoort, a completely different track to Spa, being short, narrow and twisty. 

"Therefore, ensuring we do everything right, down to the last little detail, will be vital and qualifying will be especially important as overtaking is very difficult."

Hitting the ground running

Ferrari finds itself in third place in the constructors', 79 points ahead of Mercedes and 21 behind McLaren, with Vasseur also highlighting the need for sharp strategy calls to extract the best possible result.

"As always, we will focus on getting every last drop of performance out of our package," he said. 

"That starts with identifying the best set-up as quickly as possible, as well as counting on those on the pit wall and the drivers making the right decisions at the key moments in qualifying and the race. 

"Knowing how competitive the field is this season and given the nature of the track, it’s logical to expect the weekend to be fought out to the nearest hundredths of a second."