Ferrari boss refrains from 'making predictions' after Mercedes' 1-2 finish at Spa

Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur refrained from making any "predictions" for a Grand Prix after Mercedes' 1-2 finish at the 2024 F1 Belgian GP. Even though race winner George Russell was later disqualified because of his underweight car, Vasseur feels teams need to perform perfectly to win in such a tight grid.

Mercedes struggled with their car in Friday's practice sessions with Lewis Hamilton expressing disappointment after both. They were also not too quick in qualifying. Hamilton only managed to secure P4 while Russell was in P7. In the race, however, the Silver Arrows unleashed their performance and led the race in the latter half, securing a 1-2 finish.

Russell only stopped once in the pits and ran long till the end of the race on hard tires. Hamilton was also quick enough to keep McLaren's Oscar Piastri at bay.

Lamdo Norris of McLaren at F1 Belgian Grand Prix 2024 - Getty Images

Vasseur explained the unpredictability factor that applies to the current grid with the teams bunched up closer to each other in terms of performance. He said he does not trust himself to make any future predictions (via Auto Motor und Sport):

"Mercedes had problems with the car on Friday and was at the back of the group. On Sunday they will finish in first and second place. I don't trust myself to make predictions anymore."

"After the first practice session, I would have guessed Red Bull, and after the second training session, McLaren. Then we were in pole position and Mercedes won. That shows how important it is to do everything right," he added.

Notably, Vasseur recently said that Ferrari is trying to fix a particular aerodynamic phenomenon that is being experienced in the SF-24, especially since the Spanish GP where the team brought an upgrade package.

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Fred Vasseur says Ferrari trying to fix a specific issue in SF-24

Carlos Sainz of Ferrari at F1 Belgian Grand Prix 2024 - Getty Images

Frederic Vasseur explained that the Ferrari's major issue is that the car is bouncing on high-speed corners. This was a major negative side-effect of the new floor the team introduced in the Spanish GP. He said that the team is doing everything they can to fix this issue before Zandvoort, where the track layout could bring up this issue even more (via Motorsport):

"Fixing the bouncing is a step in performance, so for sure we are pushing like hell to bring something and we will do it as soon as possible. I think it's quite impossible to simulate the bouncing because you can see that from session to session when the wind changes direction or whatever, that the bouncing can appear or disappear, that it's really marginal. We are all really on the edge of this."

After the Belgian GP, Ferrari is in third place with 345 points. They are currently chasing second-placed McLaren (366 points).