The weekend of the Monaco Grand Prix had started with high expectations for the Scuderia Ferrari. On Thursday, the entire team expressed confidence and certainty, probably supported by simulations in the factory, that they could fight on equal terms with Aston Martin and Red Bull for pole position and victory.
Those expectations were met during the free practice sessions, as both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc appeared fast and satisfied with the car’s performance. However, as the weekend progressed, the SF-23 lost its advantages and no longer performed as well as its rivals, nor was it easy to drive, preventing the drivers from pushing to the maximum through the streets of the Principality and maximizing performance.
After the disappointing (and messy) qualifying session, the Ferraris also did not perform well in the race, being slower even than Esteban Ocon’s Alpine and, in the end, also behind the two Mercedes cars. It should be noted that the race was complicated by the weather conditions (with unexpected rain towards the end), and the two red cars finished in sixth and eighth positions, far from the podium. This result essentially highlights the SF-23 car’s problems and leaves a bitter taste for the Maranello team.
Frédéric Vasseur, the team principal of Scuderia Ferrari, analyzed the weekend in an interview with Sky Sport F1 at the end of the Monaco Grand Prix. Firstly, he discussed the good pace shown by the red car in the early laps, which was not fully utilized due to Esteban Ocon’s presence, as overtaking is virtually impossible in Monaco, hindering Carlos Sainz’s ability to push as much as he could.
“It’s difficult to have a clear picture; I haven’t spoken with the drivers yet. It was a chaotic race. In the first stint, the pace was good, but Carlos tried to push with Ocon in front of him while Alonso and Verstappen were pulling away.”
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The impossibility of overtaking, along with a not-so-impressive strategy at the crucial moment of rain arrival, prevented the team from Maranello from finishing the race on the podium.
“We didn’t have the opportunity to overtake. With the rain, we took risks with the strategy.”
The race result, as mentioned, was affected by the arrival of rain (which surprised all the teams), and the performances and potential mistakes of the drivers had little impact. In essence, the French manager “exonerated” Carlos Sainz for his mistake, and he then turned the page and started thinking about the next Spanish GP.
“The conditions were difficult to manage, the weather was not favorable for any team. We can’t blame Carlos Sainz, it happened that way, many drivers made mistakes. Now let’s focus on Barcelona.” – he explained.
In the Spanish Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari will bring the long-awaited developments to the track, the extent of which Frederic Vasseur, the team boss, preferred not to reveal for now.
“We’re going back to a normal track. We were fast in qualifying, and we’ll have to repeat that. We’ll have some updates, hopefully, they can help us, and we’ll see what we can do.”
Before getting into the post-race briefings, Fred Vasseur made a humorous comment about his birthday gift: “Birthday gift? A journalist brought me Sainz’s wing, that’s my gift.”
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