Ferrari approaches the Miami GP weekend aware that they have worked well during the spring “break”.
After Charles Leclerc’s podium at the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan, the spirits of the Prancing Horse’s men seem to have lifted, and they have a lot of confidence in the potential of the car for the next rounds of the 2023 Formula 1 season, the Miami GP. In a recent interview, Frédéric Vasseur, the team principal of Scuderia Ferrari, said that the Ferrari SF-23 had recovered 50% of the gap from Red Bull. He also commented on the now imminent development plan that will involve the Prancing Horse’s car.
Let’s see together what Fred Vasseur’s statements to Nextgen-Auto were.
According to Frédéric Vasseur, Ferrari has recovered 50% (or even 60%) of its deficit from the Milton Keynes team. However, the most challenging part will be to close the remaining 50%.
“If you look at where we were in Jeddah and where we are today, I think we have bridged more than 50% of the gap. But the next 50% is not the easiest. We know we have to improve, and we know where we need to do it. The most important thing is that last weekend we got pole position and did a good stint in the race, which will give us more confidence.” – the French manager pointed out.
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After these statements, the Ferrari team principal addressed the issue of the balance, now easier to set up. In addition, he also added a comment on the rather disappointing start of the season for the Maranello team.
“The car is much easier to drive than in the early races, which gives the drivers more confidence and consistency in long stints. It’s clear that when the car is much easier to drive, as it was in Baku, the drivers are confident in their ability to push and get pole position with the car, it was pretty good. It’s true that we expected to be in better shape at the start of the season… and I don’t want to talk nonsense, but I’m satisfied with the team’s reaction. We’re never in panic mode, even if Jeddah was tough for us. However, the reaction between Jeddah and Melbourne was very good.” – the Frenchman added.
Finally, he also spoke about updates and the much-talked-about B version of the SF-23.
“The approach, even in development, has never been to panic or change everything on the car. That wasn’t the plan. We have always focused on small developments to understand what we do first, to understand where we can improve the potential, to reach the potential of the car first. I’m more than happy with this type of reaction, even though obviously I would like to be in better shape.” – he pointed out.
“It has nothing to do with results, but the team’s reaction has been positive, calm, and today it is paying off. It’s too early to talk about a B version of the SF-23. We will start developing the car from now on and for the next two events; we’ll see how the car reacts. So, there is no B car, otherwise we would have to introduce the 2024 car too early, considering the limited budgets.” – Frederic Vasseur concluded.
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