Vasseur can't explain "swing in performance" between Shanghai F1 Sprint and qualifying

After Ferrari grabbed sprint pole position and a dominant victory in the Shanghai F1 Sprint, the Scuderia's team boss Fred Vasseur was understandably delighted with the improvements the Maranello-based outfit has achieved after the horrendous showing at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Following the tough race in Melbourne, Lewis Hamilton shocked his rivals on Friday when he secured his maiden F1 pole position with Ferrari for the Shanghai sprint race. The Briton then went on to dominate proceedings in the 19-lap race, building up an enormous gap in the closing stages of the sprint.

However, things became more challenging in the conventional qualifying session as he was unable to extract the maximum of his SF-25 over a single hot lap which has left him fifth on the grid for tomorrow's Chinese Grand Prix.

His team-mate Charles Leclerc took only fifth in the sprint race as he was unable to capitalize on his late charge in the dying stages of the 19-lap race. The Monegasque then went on to qualify sixth on he grid for tomorrow's Chinese Grand Prix.

Assessing his team's performance so far this weekend, Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur noted that while he is unable to offer an explanation for the swing in performance, he is sure that tyre management will emerge as the decisive factor at Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.

“This morning’s 19 laps demonstrated that tyre management will be absolutely crucial tomorrow, given the characteristics of the new track surface in Shanghai. Today’s qualifying was really difficult to read and several teams, including ourselves, experienced a swing in performance.

"We were strong in Q1 before struggling in Q2 and in Q3 we came within three tenths of pole, most of the time lost in the final sector. Of course, we would have preferred to have qualified better, because even if you have good pace, we saw in the Sprint that running in dirty air, your tyres suffer a lot more.

"The race will be all about strategy and we must be ready to take advantage of any situations that arise. The field looks very close and overnight, we will work on ensuring we are in the best possible shape to bring home another good points haul to add to the 12 from today.”