Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur commented on another disappointing performance from the Maranello team, this time in the Spanish GP, with Carlos Sainz finishing fifth and Charles Leclerc even outside the top ten, despite the updates introduced on the SF23 during the Barcelona weekend. It was an extremely difficult weekend for the Scuderia at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which puts an end to a round that started badly and (already) ended worse.
Fred Vasseur comments on Ferrari’s difficulties in the Spanish GP
“The main problem today is in line with the past races: the potential of the car is there,” Fred Vasseur said. “In qualifying, we have a decent pace, not compared to Max but compared to the rest of the group. We managed to bring Carlos to the front row. We struggle much more to have consistency throughout the race, from one tire compound to another. Even with Charles, the first stint on the hard tires was very difficult, and the second stint was completely different. It’s not a matter of tire management because the performance was there in the last stint. But if you push harder, you have more degradation, and it’s the same for everyone. We did a good job in the last stint.” – the French manager explained.
The race had started decently for Carlos Sainz, who appeared quite competitive in the first stint on the soft tires. Then Mercedes emerged, showing a competitiveness never seen this season. It’s a sign of a greatly improved W14 thanks to the updates introduced in Monaco.
The Spaniard was initially overtaken by the two Silver Arrows and then was also passed by a recovering Sergio Perez in the much faster Red Bull RB19. He crossed the finish line in fifth position, over 45 seconds behind the winner Max Verstappen.
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Fred Vasseur continues to believe in the potential of the SF23.
“The positive side is that at least the potential is there,” the Frenchman continues, “and sooner or later, we will be able to bring it out, better understanding the tires, but we have to do it. With the updates, I think we have taken a step forward. It was Carlos’s best qualifying here. The important thing is to try to separate what went well from what went wrong. On the car’s potential, we have made progress and managed to establish a development path for the upcoming races. At least today we finished ahead of Aston Martin, which hadn’t happened in Miami.” – the Ferrari boss concluded at the end of the Spanish Grand Prix.
It was a forgettable weekend, however, for Charles Leclerc. After the shocking elimination in Q1 yesterday, the Monegasque driver’s race was a nightmare, never managing to enter the top 10 and being lapped by the Dutchman. It is not yet known whether the issues with his SF23 were resolved before the race or if the poor result of car number 16 was due to lingering problems.
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