Fred Vasseur misses Monaco quali as Ferrari confirms hospital observation

Fred Vasseur will not be present at the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday, with Ferrari revealing the team principal is under observation at a local hospital.

The team stated that, having undergone medical checks, Vasseur remains in hospital. No further details were provided.

Fred Vasseur absent from Monaco Grand Prix

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Vasseur arrived in Monte Carlo with the rest of the Ferrari team earlier this week and took his place on the pit wall for Friday’s practices, where Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton traded fastest lap times in back-to-back 1-2 results.

The 58-year-old will, however, not be trackside for Saturday’s qualifying after undergoing medical checks and he remains in hospital under observation.

“Fred Vasseur will not be present at the circuit today,” the team said in a statement to PlanetF1.com.

“Following some medical checks, Fred will remain under observation at a local medical facility.

“No further medical information will be provided.

“We wish Fred a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back at the track soon.”

PlanetF1.com understands Vasseur’s presence for Sunday’s race remains uncertain.

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Vasseur had been happy with the start of Ferrari’s Monaco Grand Prix after the team lived up to pre-race billing as the favourites, at least in practice.

Leclerc set the pace in FP1 with a 1:13.978, two-tenths faster than Hamilton, before the Briton reversed their fortunes in the day’s second session. Hamilton posted a 1:13.026 to beat Leclerc by a tenth.

Vasseur, though, wasn’t getting carried away.

“It’s a very long way in Monaco from Friday, first to the quali, then to the race,” said the Frenchman.

“The most difficult [thing] is that you have to anticipate the evolution of the track, the evolution of the grip, and you have to be always one session ahead.

“This is a real challenge for the team and for the drivers. It means that it’s still a long way, and we’ll see tomorrow [Saturday] evening about the real pace.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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