Scuderia Ferrari had the Hungarian Grand Prix in its sights because it was considered one of the races most suited to the SF-23’s characteristics. In the end, the Reds achieved two very disappointing results: Charles Leclerc in seventh place and Carlos Sainz Jr. in eighth.
At the end of the race, where the team and Charles Leclerc made several mistakes, Frédéric Vasseur spoke to the microphones of Sky Sport to comment on his team’s performance during this weekend at the Hungaroring in Budapest. It’s futile to hide the frustration due to unmet expectations: Ferrari still has a lot of work to do, especially after realizing they were overtaken by McLaren following the introduction of the major updates designed by the engineers in Woking.
How do you judge Ferrari’s race in Hungary?
“We are frustrated. But in the end, if we look at the race, I believe that without the 7-8 seconds delay in the pit stop and the 5-second penalty given to Charles Leclerc… We can’t afford all these mistakes if we want to be competitive. The pace was not magical, but it wasn’t far from Lewis’ pace. But in these conditions, we can’t afford to make any mistakes.”
What are the positive and negative aspects of Ferrari’s weekend?
“My role, my job, is also to try to separate the positive and negative aspects. The negative aspects lie in the mistakes we made and also in the fact that we are struggling to put everything together in qualifying. The positive aspect, on the other hand, is that we had a better pace in the race compared to expectations. If we compare our pace to Hamilton’s, we were almost matching it. While last race, it wasn’t like that.”
Are you satisfied with the race pace of the SF-23?
“We were a bit afraid of tire degradation due to the high temperatures we faced today. But overall, it wasn’t a bad race in terms of pace, but it is when we look at the result. Especially because we made too many mistakes starting from yesterday’s qualifying. We didn’t go beyond sixth place, then today the pit stop, the penalty… We can’t afford all these mistakes if we want to score more points.”
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
Are you happy with the attitude of the drivers?
“I think Charles Leclerc made a good analysis of the weekend. He knows that we made too many collective mistakes, but he also knows that the pace wasn’t bad. There’s definitely room for improvement, and he is fully focused on the team’s development. This is the right attitude. I’m sure Carlos will do the same; they must know how to criticize, push the team in debriefs, but remain calm outside the track.”
What can we expect from Ferrari in the next Grand Prix?
“It’s clear that the standings change enormously from one race to another, and for us, it’s not about bringing developments or novelties, but about avoiding certain mistakes. My job is to worry about ourselves and understand where we can improve. I’m not worried about this situation, but it’s clear from the beginning that we need to do a better job in all areas. It’s not just one department, maybe just the pit stop or something else. We need to try to grow in every area, and we are pushing each person to the maximum. But that’s life in a racing team.”
