The Sao Paulo Grand Prix left Scuderia Ferrari with a sour taste in their mouths. It marked a weekend of missed opportunities at the Interlagos circuit in Brazil, despite making marginal progress in the Constructors’ Championship relative to Mercedes.
Throughout the Sao Paulo weekend, Mercedes found themselves on the back foot, partly due to suboptimal setup, but they managed to mitigate the damage when compared to the Maranello team if we take into consideration the points collected by the two rivals. An early hydraulics failure prematurely ended Charles Leclerc’s Brazilian Grand Prix, leaving his Maranello teammate to minimize the point deficit to Mercedes.
Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur commented on the events that took place at the Interlagos circuit: “It’s frustrating, but that’s the way things unfolded.” – the French manager admitted.
Charles Leclerc’s disappointment and frustration also raised concerns about the Maranello team’s reliability. Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, managed to preserve the SF-23 car’s performance and even outperformed Mercedes in certain aspects, especially in the second sting, on the medium tyres. The race was undoubtedly a tale of two halves. One ended before it even began, while the other provided some consolation, but it couldn’t erase the bitterness stemming from what transpired with Charles Leclerc.
Furthermore, it’s hard to overlook the fact that Red Bull and McLaren showcased their superior speed, and even a resurgent Aston Martin comfortably outpaced the lone Scuderia car at Interlagos Efforts were made to understand the issues that plagued Charles Leclerc, with Frederic Vasseur providing a brief response without delving into too much information on this matter:
“The problem involves a control system that shuts down the hydraulics and engine. We don’t know the origin, but it is something linked more to the car’s electronic systems. Charles tried turning the engine off and on again, but there wasn’t much he could do. After leaving [the barriers], we told him it was better to stop.” – he explained.
Frederic Vasseur clarified that this presents a novel challenge for the Italian side, one they are actively investigating. The consequence of this malfunction was the complete loss of power steering. It’s evident that the Monegasque driver is understandably disheartened by the situation, reflecting a mood dominated by frustration: “Like the whole team. We had prepared the weekend for this race, keeping a set of softs and studying the best strategy, also sacrificing the Sprint, and we weren’t even able to start. Frustrating, but from tomorrow, we need to focus on Las Vegas and make sure these problems don’t happen again.”
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The primary focus will revolve around the quality control of the components and the scrutiny of wear and tear. It’s imperative to confirm that there hasn’t been any additional damage to hydraulic, electrical, or Power Unit components. The assessments conducted in Maranello will yield further insights, ultimately guiding decisions leading up to the races in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi. Scuderia Ferrari’s vexation will be compounded by the problems encountered by Mercedes. George Russell was compelled to prematurely end his race and his teammate Lewis Hamilton grappled with the challenges posed by the evidently constrained W14 single-seater: “I don’t have a glass half-full, but the podium for Charles was possible, yes. He started from the front row. With a new set of Softs, he could stay in clean air… But talking about ifs and buts is bullshit, and we can’t do anything about it now.”
The Ferrari team principal also shared his thoughts on Carlos Sainz’s race in Brazil: “Our main problem in the race was the first stint when we remained in the traffic of the Mercedes and Stroll. Temperatures were under control. The deltas were so close that overtaking was too difficult, so we extended the stint on the Soft to have an advantage and managed to overtake the two Mercedes during the second stint on the Medium.”
Carlos Sainz’s race encountered its share of issues as well. At the outset of the race, he expressed significant dissatisfaction over the radio, urgently requesting the removal of the clutch from his Ferrari SF-23 once they returned back home in Maranello: “The first one was a bad start, yes, but the second one was better. We need to understand the reason for these problems starting now.
“Regarding the problems with downshifting, it was a problem, but at the next corner, everything went back to normal.” Despite the disappointment, Frederic Vasseur outlined Ferrari’s consistent performance across different compounds. This hasn’t always been the case for the SF-23: “I think that with the degradation, we were okay, and the car was consistent in the various stints. The first stint in traffic matters little, but in the second with the new Media and in the third with the used Soft, there was a correct performance difference. Unfortunately, the red flag and Charles’ problem did not allow us to carry out our strategy and start with new tires compared to our rivals.”
Las Vegas provides a prime chance for Ferrari to narrow the gap with Mercedes.
The memories of the recent events in Austin remain vivid in the minds of Formula 1 enthusiasts. Additionally, there have been recent reports of Haas invoking their Right of Review, as the American team aims to highlight various track limit violations during the race. A successful review could potentially lead to penalties for Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll, and Alexander Albon.
Nico Hulkenberg stands to gain significantly from this situation. However, when asked about it, Fred Vasseur remained candid, stating, “I haven’t had a chance to review it, so I cannot offer any comments at this time.”
What might pique his interest is the incident involving Charles Leclerc’s disqualification for floor-related violations.
Just like in Mercedes’ case, questions were asked regarding any precautions the Italian side took before Sunday’s main event: “We will check on Carlos’s car, but we are sure we are in the safety zone. It will be chaotic. It promises to be a race in very cold conditions. It won’t just be a night race. It will be a new circuit, unknown to everyone. It could be an opportunity.” – the French manager continued after the Brazilian Grand Prix.
At the same time, Fred Vasseur wants Ferrari to do everything possible to defeat his friend and opponent Toto Wolff: “Here we have recovered a few more points on Mercedes, and Las Vegas could be an opportunity to recover others,”
Numerous concerns have arisen regarding the new American circuit, encompassing sporting apprehensions related to the track layout, along with challenges in terms of organization and infrastructure. Nevertheless, the head of Ferrari urges for a composed and optimistic outlook as the next race weekend approaches: “Let’s look at Miami last year. It went rather well, at least as far as the actions on the track are concerned. Let’s hope it’s the same for Las Vegas.” – Fred Vasseur concluded.
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