Sebastian Vettel doesn’t believe Ferrari’s passionate Tifosi would boo the team if present at Monza this weekend.
The Italian Grand Prix could be the last without fans as organisers of next week’s race at Mugello confirmed plans to allow 2,880 spectators into three grandstands around the circuit for their inaugural Formula 1 GP.
But given the poor performance of Ferrari this season, most notably their worst result in 10 years with both cars finishing last Sunday at Spa, some in the Italian media have claimed the Scuderia should be thankful there’ll be no one in the stands at their first of three home races this year.
“I don’t think we would get booed,” Vettel said when asked if that would have been a possibility.
“I think the fans are suffering probably as much the whole team, so if I had a choice I would still bring the fans back. But we know at the moment it’s not a choice for us and not possible.”
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As for expectations at the fastest circuit on the calendar, the four-time world champion replied: “It is true that it will be difficult at Monza.
“But still I always have some optimism and hope that some of the problems that seemed to slow us down at Spa we quickly understand, we can tackle them and be in a better place.
“A better place doesn’t mean that we will be able to win the race but it means that we will hopefully be stronger than at the weekend.”
Teammate Charles Leclerc is less optimistic, however.
“We couldn’t even overtake with DRS,” he said of the race in Belgium. “It’s bad, I don’t know what else to say. We have to do something.
“We will have to find something and react, as it can’t go on like this,” he added to Canal Plus. “Unfortunately at Monza it should be the same, if not worse, but it is part of my job to re-motivate the team now.”
Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto did note that the loss of ‘party modes’ in qualifying could have an effect in qualifying but conceded: “Certainly as Seb said, Monza will be difficult as well.
“It’s a circuit where power performance is important and certainly we are not the best at the moment.
“It is also a circuit where, because it is high power-sensitive, eventually it may change a bit the balance of competitiveness in the quali itself.
“We know how important it is to start ahead, in a higher position on the grid because when you are in traffic it is always more difficult as well to make the car work.”
After Monza, however, F1 heads to some twistier tracks at Mugello, Sochi, Nurburgring, Portimao and Imola, and McLaren expects the Scuderia to return to the form they showed in Hungary and Silverstone.
“What is also important, and that’s something we never do, is underestimate the ability of Ferrari to strike back during the course of the season,” team boss Andreas Seidl commented via RaceFans.
“With all the experience they have, the manpower, the infrastructure, I’m sure it’s only a question of time when they will strike back again as well.
“That’s why it hurts even more that we didn’t collect more points today,” he concluded, referring to Carlos Sainz’s failure to start at Spa due to an engine issue.