Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal of Ferrari, commented on Max Verstappen’s incredible 2023 Formula 1 season, asserting, however, that the Dutch driver “will make more mistakes when under pressure.”
Fred Vasseur’s comments
The Frenchman described the three-time world champion’s 2023 Formula 1 season: “I think no one has any doubts about this; he had an exceptional season. He was in a battle with Checo [Sergio Perez] in the first two or three events, and then he was on another planet.”
“Clearly, he made no mistakes throughout the season, and when he struggled in qualifying, like in Jeddah, it was due to a mechanical problem. Then he was always there, always had good starts, no contacts. The only problem was in Las Vegas,” he added [referring to the penalty Max Verstappen received for accompanying Charles Leclerc into turn 1].
Ferrari’s Team Principal believes that the Scuderia is getting closer to Red Bull, but not enough to put pressure on Verstappen: “I think we are getting a bit closer to him, we are… I don’t want to say we are putting him under pressure because it’s not true, [in Abu Dhabi] he wasn’t under pressure. But he was a bit more under pressure than at Zandvoort or other events where he was flying.”
“There is no doubt that he dominated throughout the season. The only issue for us is that, like everyone, he will make more mistakes when under pressure. But no one has been able to put him under pressure this season, except us in the last two or three Grand Prix, or except Carlos [Sainz] in Singapore,” he said.
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Frederic Vasseur observed that in the only race where Ferrari had a concrete chance of winning, namely in Singapore, the Austrian team made mistakes: “And that’s where [Verstappen] made some mistakes, or maybe Red Bull made some mistakes in terms of the setup. [In other races] we were too far away to put pressure on them.” – the French manager concluded.
Who will manage to exert more pressure on the Max Verstappen-Red Bull duo in 2024? It’s still too early to know, but the hope of all fans is that the answer to this question is not “no one.”
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