Fight for P2 in Constructor standings wide open: Mercedes fears a particular aspect of Ferrari. Mercedes fears a particular aspect of Ferrari in final part of 2023.

There’s one aspect in which Scuderia Ferrari has improved over time in this 2023 Formula 1 campaign and it’s causing concern for Mercedes. The Brackley-based team suspects that its advantage in tire management over the Maranello team no longer exists due to the significant progress made by the Italian side, especially since the summer break.

Given the fact that Scuderia Ferrari has worked hard to understand what exactly was not working, their pace has improved dramatically in recent races. With both the Maranello team and Mercedes fighting for the second spot in the 2023 Formula 1 constructor’s championship behind Red Bull, this could be an important aspect that may help Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in the remaining six races of the current championship.

In the last round of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix, which was held at the 5.807-kilometre Suzuka International Racing Course, where tire degradation was a critical factor, Ferrari had no major issues placing the Monegasque ahead of Lewis Hamilton and the Spaniard ahead of George Russell.

British Formula One engineer Andrew Shovlin, currently the trackside engineering director at Mercedes, believes that tire degradation is no longer a problem for the SF-23. “Ferrari has brought an updated floor. So perhaps they have improved in that regard as well. But I think that if we look at some of the tracks we have visited recently, that advantage we had with tire degradation is not so evident in these latter stages of the season.” – he pointed out following the Japanese Grand Prix.

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Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal, Frederic Vasseur, has also spoken about improvements in this area. “It’s obvious that if you look at the first two races of the season, tire degradation or tire management wasn’t always our greatest skill,” he said. “Coming to Suzuka, we were a bit at risk. But at the end of the day, I think we have done a good job in this aspect.” – the French manager concluded.

Source: f1ingenerale