The boss asserts that Ferrari did not engage in cheating in China.

      "We must have been too aggressive."

      Frederic Vasseur, the team principal of Ferrari, stated that the team's "search for perfection" went "too far" during the event in China. The Italian media has characterized the team's car project for 2025 as ambitious yet "immature," a sentiment underscored by Lewis Hamilton's performance in Shanghai, where he won the sprint from pole position but faced difficulties in the main race. Additionally, after the race, FIA scrutineers discovered that both cars were non-compliant—Hamilton had an excessively worn plank, and Charles Leclerc was underweight.

      "We must have been too aggressive," Vasseur told France’s L’Equipe. "That’s the reality. This setback highlights our pursuit of perfection and that we sometimes push too far."

      In both situations, the cars were close to meeting legal standards—Leclerc was just 1kg overweight, and Hamilton’s plank measured only 0.5mm below the required thickness.

      "It’s important to differentiate between disqualification due to risk-taking and disqualification because of cheating," Vasseur emphasized. "The goal in F1 is to push the limits of all parameters. This involves reducing weight to the last gram, achieving the precise skid thickness, and optimizing wing deformation down to the last millimeter."

      He acknowledged that increased pressure intensifies competition, necessitating closer proximity to these limits and increasing the risks involved.

      Vasseur remains hopeful about Ferrari’s prospects against McLaren for the 2025 world championship. "Of course, McLaren is in a strong position," he remarked, as reported by motorsport-total.com. "However, that doesn’t imply that our championship hopes are finished. We are only talking about a tenth or a tenth and a half per lap," the Frenchman noted. "You can shift from P6 to P1 or vice versa; therefore, we need to stay composed, work methodically, and make adjustments to the car until the very last moment."