There is a sense of regret within the Ferrari team at the end of the Qualifying session for the Austrian Grand Prix because finishing less than a tenth of a second away from pole position leaves a bitter taste. However, it is necessary to look at the day from a different perspective, following the words of Frederic Vasseur.
On Friday, Mercedes and Aston Martin were beaten. Not that much different was expected, considering the characteristics of the Red Bull Ring and the excellent qualifying abilities of the SF-23. Today, it will be necessary to replicate the performance in terms of fast laps, but above all in the sprint race to confirm the progress the Maranello team believes it has made. Not forgetting that the risk of rain will certainly be higher than yesterday.
From Barcelona, Ferrari embarked on a new development philosophy, carried out with the innovations that debuted at Fiorano and then at the Red Bull Ring. The two SF-23 cars were equipped with the new front wing and the new floor since FP1, working on the setup and learning from these upgrades. In Canada, we saw a consistent and fast Ferrari in terms of race pace, but as Frederic Vasseur had said, they need to confirm their performance on circuits with different technical characteristics. The pursuit of consistency is what interests the technicians in Maranello the most. They have worked to achieve a more stable and predictable aerodynamic platform, in other words, to widen the now famous operating window. The team is still in the learning phase of the introduced changes, with the study starting in the Spanish weekend and continuing the next day with an important data analysis, which contributed to the positive performance in Canada, along with the advantages given by the track’s friendly characteristics.
While the gap left a bitter taste, immediately after the session, Fred Vasseur wanted to thank and praise the work done by the team in Maranello. “At the factory, they pushed like crazy to bring this upgrade to the track, so it is also a reward for them to have both cars in the top 3.” The new floor and the new wing were initially planned upgrades for the Hungarian Grand Prix, then for the Silverstone GP next week, but the intense work at the factory brought forward the debut of these updates to the Austrian GP, despite the sprint race, as explained by F1 experts Paolo D’Alessandro and Piergiuseppe Donadoni for formu1a.uno.
Enrico Cardile, in particular, pushed to bring the new element to the track as soon as possible.
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Clearly, any final judgment is postponed until Saturday and especially to Sunday’s race. However, the start of the Austrian weekend seems to confirm the positive path taken from Barcelona. “We have made a small step forward, and it was important to see both cars ahead with a small gap from Max Verstappen. It is important because it confirms that we are heading in the right direction,” said the team principal to the press. Carlos Sainz’s words also confirm this sentiment. Commenting on the qualifying performance, he said that the SF-23 “has improved in fast corners. The feeling is better compared to Barcelona,” said the Spaniard. What is Ferrari’s objective for this weekend? “In Canada, we had a very solid race, and I hope we can repeat it because it would mean confirming the steps forward we have taken.”
However, when it comes to their opponents, the former Sauber and Renault boss does not want to talk too much about them, focusing only on Ferrari. “With this format, you never really know the work done by others in FP1 and where you stand compared to them, but the most important thing I see is that everyone in the team is focused only on ourselves. The road is still long, the gap with Verstappen is there, so we have to keep taking small steps forward every time.” The head of the Ferrari pit wall reiterated the commitment at Maranello and concluded that the objective for this weekend is to confirm that the chosen path is the right one for the Italian side.
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