Fred Vasseur is under observation at a ‘local medical facility’ and will miss FP3 and qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix. The Ferrari chief, 58, underwent medical checks before a decision was made.

A statement from Ferrari said: “Fred Vasseur will not be present at the circuit today. 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.”

The team principal oversaw a promising Friday in Monte Carlo for Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc topping the timesheets. The Italian team are favourites for success on the historic circuit, in a season where Mercedes have taken hope every win so far.

Vasseur had played down Ferrari’s pace on Friday evening, however. “It’s a very long way in Monaco from Friday, first to the Quali, then to the race,” he said.

“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.”

The weekend could see Hamilton vying for his first win in Ferrari colours. The seven-time world champion finished fastest in FP2 with the Prancing Horse proving to be best suited to Monaco’s slow corners.

“It’s been a positive day overall and the car felt quite good right from the first laps,” Hamilton said. “The team did a solid job with the changes we made between the two sessions and we were able to work through our programme without any major issues

“Monaco is always a very different challenge, with the bumps and the close proximity of the barriers, so it’s not easy to find the right balance and put everything together.

“There is still performance to be found and tonight we’ll focus on the details, because the margins are very small here and there’s plenty of work to do ahead of qualifying.”

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