The team principal of Ferrari prefers not to judge the 2023 season until at least tomorrow when it will be clear whether the Red Team has secured second place in the Constructors’ Championship. For 2024, however, here’s the recipe: “We’ll have to improve in many small details. That’s where Red Bull makes the difference.”
The verdict is suspended, at least until tomorrow afternoon. Frédéric Vasseur is satisfied with the performance achieved today in the qualifying session by Charles Leclerc, who unexpectedly secured a front row at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final act of the 2023 Formula 1 season.
Ferrari is chasing the second spot in the Constructors’ Championship, with Mercedes just ahead by a mere 4 points. For this reason, the French manager has decided not to pass judgment on his first season at the helm of the Scuderia Ferrari until the final result is known. However, in his interview with Sky Sport F1, he touched on many other interesting points about the present and the near future.
How was your first year at Ferrari as the team principal?
“How my first year at Ferrari was will be seen tomorrow, after the final result. We struggled at the beginning because the expectations were too high. But in the last races, we came back well, achieved poles and front rows. But now we have to close the gap with Red Bull, and it’s a good motivation for everyone looking ahead to 2024.”
“We understood even before Bahrain that the season would start uphill. Even when Charles tried the car in the simulator, he was quite shocked. We reacted step by step. We overcame difficult moments because halfway through the season, we were 70 points behind Mercedes, but then we reacted well and came back.”
It seems that Leclerc has returned to drive very well in this last part of the season…
“Leclerc is driving well now. In the second part of the season, he had a tough period, but now he is doing very well. He had some unfortunate incidents, but he is doing very well, reacted very well, and this is very important for the team. Also for Carlos, because we can see that Charles has reacted well even after Carlos’s victory, and this reaction has done a lot of good for the team.”
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Ferrari started the season with tire degradation issues. However, things seem to have improved quite a bit now…
“We didn’t always have a problem with tire degradation per se. In the sense that sometimes you have a pace problem, and you have to push much harder to try to reach certain performances and use the tires much more than you would like. When you are doing well, it’s much easier to manage the tires and make them last longer. It’s also true that step by step, we helped the drivers manage the tires better. It’s a matter of details.”
“When there’s a qualifying as tight as today’s, you can even be eliminated by a tenth. We saw it with Hamilton too. In these conditions, every little detail is crucial. It is crucial on pace, tire management, and weekend choices. It’s always a matter of details. One should not imagine that Red Bull has a magic wand with which they can dominate. It’s small details in every aspect, and that’s where we need to recover.”
What slide do you have in mind from your first season in Maranello?
“Surely the important thing, and it pleased me a lot, is a much greater passion than anywhere else. We must not counteract it; we must try to have higher highs, be more consistent. You always have to maintain calm, discipline, and focus on our work. We know there is a big gap to fill, but we are on the right path, and that is positive.”
“The picture I have in my heart is Monza. It’s something bigger than the victory in Singapore, and I still have the photo on the background of my computer. Certainly, Singapore was my first victory with Ferrari, but Monza was magical.”
Do you think tire degradation could be a factor for tomorrow’s race?
“This is a strange weekend. Free Practice 1 and 3 are held in different conditions than 2 and Qualifying and Race. We did well today when night fell, so we hope to do well tomorrow, when we will run in the same condition. Tire degradation here is medium to high, and our stints will have to be quite long, even with the Medium.”
How important would it be for Ferrari to secure second place in the Constructors’ Championship?
“You set a goal during the season, and from the beginning, it was clear how the titles were in the hands of Red Bull. From the first sector of Bahrain, we knew it would be tough, but the reaction was good, and we recovered a lot of points on Mercedes. That became our goal. I remember that after Silverstone, some comments saw us fighting for fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship, but we were always focused on Mercedes and second place. However, the most important thing will be tomorrow; we have to finish well to start well in 2024.”
Is it possible to win tomorrow?
“It’s always possible to win, and it will be possible tomorrow too, but for us, the most important thing will be to score 4 more points than Mercedes.”
How happy are you to start a season that will be your first season with Ferrari in every respect?
“I am happy, yes, but first, we have to finish this season well and then think about the next. Honestly, the dynamic we have today is encouraging and is also the best motivation. We had difficult moments, but now in this last part of the season, everyone has a smile on their faces in the hospitality, and it’s the best feeling you can have.”
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