Frederic Vasseur, the team principal of Scuderia Ferrari, has come to the defense of the Maranello team’s decision to issue team orders during the Austrian Grand Prix, despite the fact that Spanish driver Carlos Sainz was left feeling dissatisfied at the conclusion of the race which was held at the 4.318-kilometre Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.
During the race weekend in Austria, the Italian side had their most impressive performance of the 2023 Formula One campaign thus far, with both Carlos Sainz and his teammate Charles Leclerc qualifying among the top three, just behind the Red Bull RB19 of Max Verstappen, who was then unmatchable on Sunday.
In the early stages of the race, it appeared that Carlos Sainz had the advantage over Charles Leclerc in terms of pace. However, when the Spaniard made requests over the team radio to change positions with his Maranello teammate, the Ferrari pit wall disregarded his appeals and asked him not to attack Charles.
Subsequently, Carlos Sainz experienced a slow pit stop when both Ferrari SF-23 cars entered the pit lane during an early Virtual Safety Car period. Ultimately, he finished the Austrian Grand Prix in fourth place but was classified in sixth place after receiving a post-race time penalty for exceeding track limits. On the other hand, Charles Leclerc maintained his second-place position, securing the team’s second podium finish of the 2023 Formula 1 championship after the one in Baku.
The Spaniard did not hide his disappointment for how events unfolded at the Red Bull Ring in his post-race interview: “Obviously frustrated with the final outcome after having such a strong pace on the mediums, feeling also like I was playing the team game and not getting rewarded with a good result, which obviously leaves you always with a sour feeling. I’ve been very strong today, very quick, very fast. Good overtaking, good defending, but in the end [the result] is not what I want.” – he admitted.
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Following the conclusion of the Austrian Grand Prix, Fred Vasseur emphasized that Scuderia Ferrari’s primary objective at the Red Bull Ring, which had been decided by the Maranello team and drivers prior to the race, was to utilize the DRS effect to create a distance between their cars and the ones trailing behind. This strategy aimed to secure their respective positions while remaining behind the formidable Red Bull driven by Max Verstappen, which was unfortunately clearly out of reach.
The Frenchman explained in an interview with Sky Sports F1: “At the beginning it was the strategy that we decided that [our] interests as a team and as drivers was to pull away of P4/P5 in favour and to not attack ourselves. And for sure when you are behind, you are much faster with the DRS and we didn’t want to swap each two laps. It was a strategy and they applied the strategy perfectly.” – he pointed out.
Ever since implementing a significant upgrade package during the Spanish Grand Prix race weekend at the Circuit de Catalunya a few weeks ago, Scuderia Ferrari has demonstrated enhanced speed, leading Fred Vasseur to believe that the team has regained its momentum after a lackluster start to the 2023 Formula 1 campaign.
Nevertheless, considering the substantial time gap of over 20 seconds between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc before the Dutchman’s late pit stop on the penultimate lap which allowed him to also secure the fastest lap of the Austrian Grand Prix, the Frenchman acknowledged that Ferrari must strive for further improvements in order to reestablish themselves as genuine contenders for race victories.
He pointed out that “It’s not so easy when you’re on the pit wall and in the car but the result is a good one and I think we are [going] in the right direction. We did a strong quali on Friday, the race in Canada was a good one [and] we confirmed today on a completely different track layout and with a different Tarmac and so on. Now we have to do another step if we want to fight with Max and we are pushing for this.” – Fred Vasseur explained.
In a sudden turn of events, Ferrari has reemerged as a formidable contender for the second position in the Constructors’ standings, trailing Aston Martin by a mere 21 points, with Mercedes a further three points behind, both of whom encountered difficulties at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. Although Fred Vasseur acknowledged Ferrari’s estimated advantage of 0.3 seconds per lap over Mercedes and Aston Martin last weekend in Spielberg, he dismissed the notion that the team has comfortably distanced themselves from their rivals in terms of pace.
“I’m not sure that is the right word. I’m sure that they will develop and they will bring some updates in the next couple of events and we will do the same. But I think it will be a long one until the end of the season. It’s very close because today the gap was three tenths per lap, but we have to keep this momentum and this pace because I think we are doing a good job.” – the Ferrari boss concluded.
