Vasseur underlines dangerous trend: 'F1 is becoming a qualififying championship'

In all races so far this season, (including the sprint race in China), the pole sitter went on to win. More than ever, Formula 1 has become a qualifying championship, according to Ferrari's boss, Frederic Vasseur.

With Lando Norris winning from lights to flag in Australia, Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri doing the same respectively during the sprint and the Grand Prix in China, and now Max Verstappen also winning from pole in Japan, the championship has become not so much about managing tyres, but rather about qualifying performance.

Vasseur sees change in F1 title fight

In Suzuka, for instance, teams showed very little degradation which determined the flow of the race. "I think the one-stop races is more linked to the resurfacing than something else," explains Vasseur. "We are asking Pirelli to have a tyre with more degradation, but if we are resurfacing everywhere, we are killing the system. And it's more for this reason that we are going in a one-stop race."

Making a difference during a race has become particularly difficult, especially when the leader is running in clean air and thus not dealing with the turbulence of a car in front of him. "For sure, quali was always crucial into the performance. And [the] more you are close, [the] more the gap is small between [the] cars."

"It's even more true because then you are in the group of cars, not that you are just one fighting with the guy in front of you. Yes, it will probably be a quali championship."

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