(Motorsports news) While the recent surge in form has been impressive, Ferrari’s Frederic Vasseur believes McLaren failed in earlier races this season despite displaying flashes of excellent performance over one lap, most notably in Spain, where Norris qualified third.

Lando Norris has four second places since the first part of an aggressive upgrade program began in Austria, while teammate Oscar Piastri earned his first podium with a third place in Japan last weekend.

“I’m not sure if we have exactly the same reading of the season,” Vasseur remarked when asked about the MCL60’s speed. “I believe they had a major problem at the start, but they recovered quickly because, even in Barcelona, they were on the second row.”

“I believe it was Max Verstappen(Red Bull), Carlos Sainz(Ferrari), Lando Norris(McLaren) and Lewis Hamilton(Mercedes) on the second row, and they were already competitive. And this type of track is probably better suited to their car than to Ferrari’s.” But it’s not simply an issue of raw potential; it’s also a matter of driveability.

“Every time you take a step forward, you help the driver take a step forward, and this can have a snowball effect.” Still, it’s a baby step in comparison to Red Bull!” Vasseur agreed that Ferrari’s race at Suzuka demonstrated that the Maranello team had overcome the tyre management concerns that had plagued its drivers earlier in the season.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished fourth, some distance behind the McLarens, and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished sixth, having chased Hamilton’s Mercedes across the finish line. “I think it’s a step forward compared to the beginning of the season,” Vasseur said of tire usage.

“On the other hand, we were probably a little too cautious, and I believe it was true for everyone on the grid that we were more scared than reality.” The race was under control. And we believe we took a good stride ahead with this one. “If you look at the first couple of races of the season, degradation or tyre management were not always our strongest suit, to put it mildly.”

“And coming into Suzuka with this track temperature, we were a little concerned.” But, in the end, I believe we did a terrific job on this side. “The race was well under control, and the strategy was well executed.” We performed admirably. A significant improvement over the first half of the season.”

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