Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing driver, dominated the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, securing his ninth consecutive victory. Despite this, Ferrari Team Principal, Frederic Vasseur, remains optimistic about his team’s progress in Formula 1. Vasseur acknowledges that Ferrari is no longer in a “hopeless” position compared to Red Bull, but admits that there is still work to be done to reduce the gap between the two teams.
Ferrari has focused on developing a more consistent and predictable car this season, aiming to avoid the unpredictable performance fluctuations that plagued their previous car. The SF-24, Ferrari’s latest car, has shown promising results in testing and positioned the team as the closest competitor to Red Bull this season. In the first two rounds of the championship, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc managed to split the two Red Bulls on the starting grid. Leclerc also secured a third-place finish in Bahrain and repeated that performance in Jeddah.
However, despite Ferrari’s progress, Red Bull remains the team to beat. Max Verstappen’s dominant performance in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix highlighted Red Bull’s superiority, with Leclerc finishing significantly 18.8 seconds behind. Vasseur reflects on Ferrari’s performance in the race, acknowledging both positive and negative emotions.
Vasseur emphasizes the positive aspects, noting that Ferrari made significant improvements compared to the race from the previous year in Jeddah. The team’s lap times were closer to the leaders and they even managed to set the fastest lap on the last lap of the race. Vasseur sees this as a sign of better management and consistency. However, he remains realistic about the difference between Ferrari and Red Bull, recognizing that the latter still has a slight advantage both in qualifying and in the race.
Despite this, Vasseur remains optimistic about Ferrari’s future prospects. He believes that the team has a stronger foundation to challenge Red Bull for victories, even before considering future developments. Vasseur also suggests that Ferrari’s decision to prioritize a rear wing configuration that provides more downforce was made with the intention of fighting off the cars behind them.
Overall, Vasseur’s view is positive, recognizing the progress Ferrari has made, but also acknowledging the challenges they still face to catch up to Red Bull.
“When we got to a one-second gap, it was ineffective. And today, that was a positive start. We have the potential to be competitive and get involved in the battle.”
“I believe Jeddah offers ample overtaking opportunities. And for our competitors, they had a higher top speed. It was a strategic decision. However, in certain situations, we will have alternative chances.”
Ferrari had emphasized that one of its main goals with the renewed car concept for 2024 was to eliminate the performance drop that hindered its performance in the race last season.
With this concern seemingly resolved, Vasseur dismissed the idea that the increased gap to Red Bull in race conditions could be attributed to fuel levels.
“I don’t believe the amount of fuel in the car is the issue,” he said.
“I think it’s more about the early phase where we were in the fight and, once we had clean air and Charles was a bit alone, he managed to get closer.
“Now, evaluating performance in the race is never easy because you don’t know when the drivers are pushing, and so on.
“But if we compare to a year ago, where we were approximately 1.1 seconds behind in Jeddah and Bahrain, today we are only four, five, six tenths behind, cutting the difference in half.
“Performance improvement comes from various aspects. It’s not a single factor that adds five tenths to the car. This means that, if we want to catch up, we need to improve every aspect.
“Our approach last year was lacking. In the end, it paid off that we made good progress, but we need to keep pushing in all areas.
“Undoubtedly, aerodynamics always play a crucial role. We have updates on the way, but, like everyone else, we understand that the most important aspect is not just bringing updates, but bringing updates that can be effectively implemented on the car, and I believe we have done a good job in that regard.”
© 2024
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