Raise your hand if, on the eve of the championship, you would have bet a cent on seeing a Ferrari only 24 points behind Red Bull in the Formula 1 constructors’ championship after the first eight races. What the men of Maranello have accomplished with the SF24 in a few months is almost extraordinary, considering the strength values at the end of the 2023 F1 season and an RB19 capable of dominating 22 of the 23 races held last year.
Can Scuderia Ferrari be competitive everywhere from now on? The wind, especially from Miami onwards, has changed, and it seems to be blowing more and more in Maranello’s direction, with Charles Leclerc, in addition to breaking the curse of winning the home Grand Prix in Monaco, also managing to close much of the gap in the standings from Max Verstappen, with the Monegasque now second alone at “only” 31 points behind.
So, how far can this red car go? It is obviously risky to mention the word title, but the feeling is that this car, which was already born under the best auspices last February, can hold its own or at least challenge the Anglo-Austrian team, which now also has to deal with the significant damages caused by the accident between Sergio Perez and Kevin Magnussen.
Looking ahead to the next stage in Canada and more generally to the continuation of the championship, Frederic Vasseur expressed considerable optimism: “If you look at the last three events, such as Miami, Imola, and Monaco, the layout is different, the asphalt is different, and we are all there within a tenth. I don’t want to say that we dominated in Monaco, but if you look at the overall picture, we are within a tenth.” – the French manager pointed out.
“I would say that this is probably the potential of the car today, because they are different tracks, different asphalt, different compounds. The characteristics of Canada are a bit strange, because there are low-speed corners, many curbs, and a very high top speed. We have good feelings. I believe that the last three events have been representative of the current situation and the current potential.” – the Ferrari boss added.
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Speaking instead about the Montmelò stage, historically a key point of the season, the Frenchman responded: “Barcelona is a good mix of different corners, it is challenging for the tires. After eight events, I believe we also have a good view of the different layouts and we have a clear hierarchy.”
“Barcelona’s event will not radically change anything. We have not done tests in the last two years. It is a bit less reliable than in the past. In the past, we bypassed all potential set-up problems because we always did two or three days of testing, which meant knowing the car’s setup perfectly.”
With a third of the championship now archived, Frederic Vasseur already has a complete general picture: “I would say that I trust more the fact that so far we have had eight events on eight different layouts with eight different asphalts. For me, the picture is quite clear.” – the Ferrari team principal concluded ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.
Source: f1ingenerale
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