Ferrari’s disappointing Sao Paulo Grand Prix was not simply a case of being outperformed by its rivals on pure pace, according to team boss Fred Vasseur.
The Frenchman has revealed – unsurprisingly – that the Scuderia’s biggest problem at Interlagos was its inability to consistently get its tyres into the right operating window, an issue that magnified the SF-26’s weaknesses and left both drivers fighting a largely losing battle.
The final classification made for grim reading in Maranello, with Charles Leclerc demoted to eighth and Lewis Hamilton finishing ninth.
Just a week after coming agonisingly close to victory in Mexico, Ferrari had managed only six points in Brazil, while Mercedes celebrated clinching the Constructors’ Championship.
There were mitigating circumstances. Both Ferrari drivers incurred 10-place grid penalties for power unit changes, while Hamilton suffered an additional engine complication in final practice that forced another change ahead of qualifying.
Starting from 20th, the Briton nevertheless produced a blistering opening lap to climb to ninth, but his early progress proved impossible to sustain.
Both drivers struggled with their intermediate tyres, while the subsequent switch to slicks brought no immediate relief. For Vasseur, the explanation was clear: Ferrari had once again fallen foul of a familiar weakness.
Tyre temperature proves Ferrari’s undoing
Hamilton’s aggressive early switch to slicks in the mixed conditions failed to deliver the expected advantage, while Leclerc only began to find meaningful pace towards the end of his stint on the Soft compound.
The contrast was particularly revealing for Vasseur, who believes tyre preparation can have a far greater influence on performance than any chassis characteristic or development upgrade.
“I don't want to speak in details of technical stuff,” he said. “But for sure it's a lot about tyre temperature, and in certain phases of the race or certain conditions we are struggling more.
“And yeah, there was a huge gap between the beginning of the stint of Charles on softs and last couple of laps, when he was almost as fast as the guys with new tyres.
“As usual, when you have an issue with tyres, the effect or the impact is always much, much higher than the characteristic of the car, or the upgrade that you bring.
"You can bring an upgrade a weekend, if you are not in the right spot with the tyres, you are nowhere because the magnitude of this is half a second, but most of the upgrades or the characteristic of the track is tenths.”
Not only a tyre temperature issue
Ferrari did enjoy occasional competitive spells but never managed to establish a consistent rhythm. Its struggles were compounded by a lack of straight-line speed, making overtaking particularly difficult on a circuit where the available dry racing line was narrow.
“This weekend I think we were able to be into the pace on some occasions, and some occasions we were far away,” added Vasseur.
“Then there is another issue – starting from the back with the penalty, and the fact that we are still struggling in terms of top speed. When you have only one line dry, it's mega difficult, and we are stuck at the back.”
Vasseur acknowledged that the grid penalties had fundamentally altered Ferrari's approach to the weekend, leaving the team with little room for manoeuvre once its initial tyre difficulties became apparent.
“On Friday we knew that, and then when you have to take the penalty, the approach of the weekend is a bit different.
“Friday we struggled. Saturday was much better, both conditions [dry FP3 and wet Qualifying], but I think it's an accumulation between the mix of the top speed issue, we had to put the tyres in temperature, and we are at the back, and we are struggling. And then we are trying to find a shortcut on the strategy, and so on.”
Read also: F1i Driver Ratings for the 2026 São Paulo Grand PrixThe team principal also defended the thinking behind Hamilton's early switch to slicks, while conceding that Ferrari may have jumped the gun. Fernando Alonso, who remained on intermediates, was actually quicker on the following lap.
“If you have a look, Alonso was faster on the lap after with the inter. I think we anticipated when we pitted Lewis – it was to be aggressive, and perhaps a bit too much.”
Mercedes celebrates as Ferrari looks ahead
The frustration of Interlagos was compounded by the championship picture. Mercedes secured the 2026 Constructors’ crown, leaving Ferrari a distant second and extending Maranello's wait for a first title since 2008.
Vasseur was quick to congratulate his rivals, but made no attempt to disguise the competitive ambition that continues to drive his team.
“I think everybody on the grid wants to win, wants to fight,” said Vasseur. “And we are all competitors, and we all want to win. When you start the championship, you have this goal.
“Now we knew from the beginning that it would be difficult for us, we understood from the first straight line, and I think the team did a good job to continue to push to develop the engine.
“I think on the chassis side, on the grip limited side, we are more than performant. But yeah, for sure, congratulations to Mercedes – and see you next year!”
For Ferrari, the immediate challenge is to understand why a car capable of challenging near the front one weekend can become so difficult to manage the next.
Vasseur's diagnosis points squarely towards tyre temperature, but Interlagos also exposed the limitations of the SF-26's straight-line performance.
Until both weaknesses are addressed, the Scuderia risks continuing to leave valuable points on the table.
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