Fred Vasseur pinpoints “big step forward in high-speed corners” for Ferrari, but “tire management is not closed chapter”. Fred Vasseur on "big step forward in high-speed corners" .

The Progress of the SF-24

Three coincidences are a proof, Agatha Christie used to say, but Ferrari has collected as many as four: the SF-24 car is clearly the second force on the track in this early stage of the 2024 Formula 1 season and boasts an impressive average of 30 points per race (the sum, for example, of a second place worth 18 points and a fourth worth 12), a figure that becomes even more significant when considering that at the Jeddah circuit in Saudi Arabia the reserve driver Oliver Bearman raced due to Carlos Sainz’s unavailability.

Via radio at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc, finishing in fourth position, expressed regret, pondering where he could have finished if he hadn’t compromised the weekend in the qualifying session, where he could only manage eighth position mainly due to difficulty in getting the tires up to temperature, a key aspect the Maranello team needs to focus on in the upcoming weeks to make sure they can capitalize on the strong race pace.

During the press conference, team principal Frederic Vasseur emphasized that the Japanese Grand Prix confirmed that the Ferrari SF-24 is particularly comfortable in high-speed corners, a characteristic of the F1-75 that has been rediscovered (and the times in the second sector prove it):

“We have made a huge leap forward in high-speed corners, and Suzuka is a great example, as well as in tire management. It’s always a compromise: when you improve in one aspect, you lose elsewhere. Overall, however, we have taken a good step forward when comparing the last four GPs of last season and the first four of this year,” Fred Vasseur pointed out.

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However, the Ferrari pit wall boss does not believe that tire management is a closed chapter; further confirmation is needed: “Since the beginning of the season, we have been significantly better at tire management and degradation compared to last year. Both in Jeddah and Melbourne, we set the fastest lap at the end of the race, while in Japan we missed it narrowly. We have worked hard on our weaknesses and improved a lot as a team, drivers, and strategies. Now there are other weaknesses, and we need to improve in other areas. We shouldn’t think that tire management is a closed chapter. Next time in China, there will be different asphalt and environmental conditions. It will be another challenge.” – the French manager concluded.