Vasseur: The nature of the race will be completely unpredictable.

      The results of the qualifying session at the Montreal track did not please Ferrari fans – Lewis Hamilton will start the Canadian Grand Prix from fifth position, while Charles Leclerc could not rise above eighth. Frederic Vasseur, the head of the Italian team, admits that such results are clearly below expectations and indicate that Scuderia and its drivers have not fully unlocked the potential of the SF-26 car.

      Frederic Vasseur: “The battle in qualifying was intense, especially towards the end, when Lewis climbed to second position after his first laps in the final session. But in his decisive attempt, he couldn't put everything together, and it's a pity because we had the pace and could have aimed for a better result.

      Now all attention must shift to preparing for the Sunday race, when we will likely face challenges of a completely different nature.

      We haven't raced in the rain with these cars or this new tire, which means teams and drivers will need to adapt very quickly, including this process continuing over several laps leading up to the start of the Grand Prix. All of this promises that the nature of the race will be completely unpredictable.”

      While Hamilton and his engineers have a somewhat optimistic outlook, as the seven-time world champion is generally satisfied with the car, the same cannot be said for Charles Leclerc. During qualifying, communicating via radio with his race engineer, he did not hide his frustration and complained that he was unable to heat the tires to the required temperatures – consequently, the SF-26 lacked grip, and Leclerc did not feel confident in the car.

      Vasseur, speaking about this, emphasized that other teams faced similar problems but acknowledged that the tire heating issue remains one of Ferrari's weak points. Given that the weather in Montreal is expected to be quite cool on Sunday, the problem may only worsen.

      Currently, Canadian meteorological services report that the air temperature does not exceed 11 degrees, and light rain is falling near Montreal airport. From there, it is less than 20 km to the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit.