Ferrari towards Monza: Fred Vasseur calls for a change of pace
It was known that Zandvoort could be a challenging stop for Scuderia Ferrari, and recent history confirms it. However, the extent of their struggle throughout the weekend was less predictable. The SF-23 never seemed to find its footing during all the free practice sessions at the Zandvoort circuit, and after salvaging what could be saved in qualifying (albeit with a crash involving Charles Leclerc), the car suffered from being slower than too many other faster cars during the race.
While Carlos Sainz’s fifth place in the Dutch Grand Prix might make fans raise an eyebrow since an Alpine ended up on the podium, it’s a points haul that the Spaniard would find difficult to improve. In fact, had rain not arrived towards the end, the Smooth Operator would have been even more challenged in defending against those behind him, considering the poor performance of the last set of soft tires.
As Ferrari arrives at Monza for its home race, it carries the question marks from the Netherlands, where it raced even “light,” perhaps in anticipation of the embrace from the fans at the Temple of Speed.
And it’s precisely at home that Frederic Vasseur expects a change of pace. The Frenchman doesn’t speak of results but rather of speed to extract from the car. He calls for a true “performance leap” from the SF-23, which might perform relatively better this weekend compared to the Netherlands, given the reduced importance of aerodynamic load.
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Fred Vasseur’s comments
“Surely, we need to improve and we’re working hard. We’re taking small steps, and I hope to see an improvement in performance at Monza,” commented the team principal to the journalists at the end of the Dutch Grand Prix. “Every weekend, we need to start from a blank slate: at Spa-Francorchamps, we were in much better shape, while Zandvoort was a tougher weekend. We need to prepare ourselves in the best way to put everything together and do a good job.” – the French manager concluded.
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