In Singapore, Scuderia Ferrari achieved its first victory of a season that had been well below expectations, thanks to Carlos Sainz. After the grand declarations made in February, the Maranello team had to contend with a difficult-to-drive car, the SF-23, and a team, Red Bull, that was significantly superior to all the others on the grid. The early stages of the season brought few satisfactions, with anonymous races, retirements, and errors that had turned the Ferrari environment fiery. Step by step, however, something began to change, finally for the better.
Some improvements had already been seen in Monza, where Carlos Sainz had secured pole position on Saturday before ultimately conceding victory to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez on Sunday, not without putting up a fight. At Marina Bay, the excellent Carlos became the protagonist of an even more extraordinary weekend, giving the Prancing Horse a victory that had been missing for over a year. It should be noted that this success was also due to the teamwork led by Charles Leclerc, who did not flinch, despite evident frustration expressed at the end of the race. Is Fred Vasseur’s approach starting to bear fruit? Only time will answer that question. In the meantime, let’s take a look at the in-depth analysis by Carlo Vanzini for Autosprint.
Finally, Ferrari. Carlo Vanzini’s analysis: “The first of F-Red”
“Everyone’s goal is to return to victory. I feel the enthusiasm of the people and of all those who work for this team. This event is the best way to start the season, the most important thing is to return to success and keep our promises,” said Frédéric Vasseur on February 14, 2023, the date of the presentation of the SF-23.
“At that time, it seemed like the beginning of a head-to-head challenge with Red Bull. However, 214 days have passed since then, marked by bitter disappointments and ‘we need to understand,'” Vanzini comments as he rewinds the tape of the 2023 championship. He then focuses on the victory in Singapore, writing: “A perfect Sainz, tactically intelligent and brave in staying close to Norris to protect himself from the Mercedes behind. A Lauda-like victory. Also unprecedented are Charles Leclerc’s role and the team’s ruthlessness. They win with one and win at all costs. It doesn’t matter with whom. […] What matters is winning, and Ferrari and Carlos did it in a special way, simply perfect and nerve-wracking for those who had to narrate it, but I imagine even more so for those who support them.”
Focus on Fred Vasseur
During his analysis, Carlo Vanzini emphasizes his focus on the French manager: “He stepped onto the podium to enjoy his first as a team principal. […] He savored his first win in red and of his career by emptying the bottle in Carlos’s back. He was considered Charles Leclerc’s man, but he is a team player who doesn’t think twice about considering only the team’s well-being. During the dark moments of this adventure, he highlighted three main points on his agenda: 1) keeping the group united and motivated, 2) enabling the people he has to work well and be happy, and 3) rebuilding the ambitions stifled by results with the introduction of new elements, around fifty, not a few of whom face recruitment difficulties that he has yet to overcome.”
The Conclusion
“Ferrari hasn’t revived in a single race, on a very particular track, but it has received a good boost of confidence to continue the reconstruction path with the discovery of a new Sainz and the need not to turn Charles Leclerc into a case behind Carlos Sainz. This also happened to Hamilton with Rosberg, finding himself under pressure, and this only raises the bar for the two, always with a single commandment: ‘THE WELL-BEING OF THE TEAM,'” the journalist concludes.
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