Vasseur says Ferrari's Chinese GP battle "good for F1", "unfair" to use team orders

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has hailed the close-quarters battling between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the Chinese Grand Prix as "good for F1". 

Barring any incident, Ferrari appeared to have third and fourth positions sewn up by mid-race in Shanghai. In such a position, it is not uncommon for teams to instruct drivers to hold position to the finish, minimising the risk of any dropped points. This has previously been the case for Ferrari. 

But on Sunday, the pit wall remained clear of the battle, which saw neither driver give an inch as they duked it out for podium honours.

Asked by Sky Sports about the battle, Vasseur joked, "I checked on my Whoop, and it was ok.

“I trust them, and for sure, it is always tricky because it is difficult to stop them, and I don’t want to ask them to freeze the positions, and I think it would be unfair. They are professional, and it is good for the team, it is good for F1, and I would prefer it stays like this.”

By finishing in the top three, Hamilton recorded his first podium appearance for Ferrari after over a year of trying. 

Noting Kimi Antonelli's maiden race-winning performance, Vasseur said of Hamilton's achievement: "I think it’s an important step, as with Kimi. Not for the same reasons, but it’s important, and I’m sure that it will help us to come back. Now, the target is Mercedes.

“It was a good weekend overall, but we are still far away from the Merc. We are still four-five tenths back, and it’s a lot.”

No "magic bullet" for Ferrari in Mercedes F1 chase

While Mercedes battled to make up lost ground in the previous ground effect era of F1, team principal Toto Wolff frequently referenced that there was no magic bullet that would see his team vault to race-winning contention. 

This message is now being deployed by Vasseur, who, when asked whether Ferrari will focus on power unit development, explained why this is not an overwhelming focus.

“But we are not only working on the power unit, we are working everywhere," he said. "On the power unit, it is a bit more difficult, but let’s try to do the best. We won’t find a magic bullet at five-tenths. I think it is probably better to try to find five topics at one-tenth.”