The basic concept of the SF-23 is not in question. Frederic Vasseur is convinced that the biggest problem that emerged from the opening round of the 2023 Formula 1 championship, the Bahrain Grand Prix, namely the tire management, is not linked to the single-seater ‘concept’, but to the general set-up of the car for the Sakhir race weekend.
On the reliability front, the Scuderia team principal wants to get more information and clearly understand what happened before classifying the problem that forced Charles Leclerc to end the race prematurely in Sakhir. Losing a podium finish was obviously disappointing for the Italian side, but in the medium and long term the goal for the Ferrari technicians is clear: the single-seater must allow Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to be able to compete on equal terms with Red Bull.
Jeddah becomes an important round in this start of the season, not only because there will be a week in Maranello to try and shed light on what happened in Bahrain, but also because of the different characteristics of the Jeddah Corniche circuit.
Following the Bahrain Grand Prix, Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur was interviewed by Motorsport Italy to address some of the key points from the Sakhir race:
How do you explain the difference in race pace between Charles and Carlos?
Frederic Vasseur: “In the first stint Charles was able to count on a new set of softs, and I think it was an advantage. Carlos complained over the radio of excessive degradation that we will analyze, and this factor affected his race”.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
Among the positive aspects of the race we can include the pit stops and the strategy. Do you confirm?
Frederic Vasseur: “Yes, they are positive aspects, but I would say that in terms of strategy the work in this race was quite easy. As for the pit stops, it’s no coincidence that they were excellent, the team trained a lot during the winter, I think 2,000 tire changes were made and everything went very well. But unfortunately you don’t win the race with pit stops, at most you can lose them. There are other sectors on which we must concentrate”.
What went differently as compared to the pre-season testing session?
Frederic Vasseur: “During the testing session two weeks ago I think everyone ran with very different loads of fuel and different engine mapping to hide the true performance. We all expected Red Bull to be further ahead in qualifying, but in the end we managed to stay close and that was the case at the end of the first stint of the race. As I said before, the two Red Bull cars made very good use of the possibility to complete the race with a soft-soft-hard strategy, while we were forced into the soft-hard-hard sequence. This conditioned us. But the first problem is reliability, because on this front we have to avoid any unexpected events”.
Jeddah awaits now, a very different track than Sakhir. Do you think it will be necessary to wait for two or three tracks to get a clearer picture?
Frederic Vasseur: “No, this Sunday’s overall picture is what we have, even if Bahrain is a bit extreme in terms of degradation and tends to amplify critical issues, but that’s the general picture”.
Regarding the tyre degradation issue, do you think it could be a problem that can be solved in the short or long term?
Frederic Vasseur “I don’t have a crystal ball, but I hope it won’t take too long.”
Who do you consider to be your main opponent at the moment, Aston Martin or Red Bull?
Frederic Vasseur: “If we look at the first part of the race, we were closer to Red Bull than Aston Martin. But after just one race it’s difficult to evaluate the values in the field, and I think Mercedes will arrive up there soon too. In Jeddah we will have a better image”.
Leave a Reply