Frédéric Vasseur has provided an update on Ferrari’s situation after the first two races of the 2024 Formula One season. There is still ground to make up against Red Bull, but now the Italian side is closer and will have to focus on aerodynamics to enhance performance.
As of now, the 2024 Ferrari is not a team that can aspire to win the Formula 1 World Championship. However, the strides made compared to the previous year are so evident and tangible that the Maranello team undeniably stands as the second force behind the still elusive Red Bull.
The SF-24 is a well-conceived car, competitive for podium finishes but not yet for victories. The gap to RB20 is a few tenths both in qualifying and the race, but the margin of the Milton Keynes team seems to have narrowed. A closer Ferrari means the potential to exert more pressure on Red Bull, possibly avoiding a repeat of the near clean sweep achieved by Christian Horner’s team last season.
Frédéric Vasseur, the team principal of Ferrari, acknowledges that hard work lies ahead in Maranello to make up ground. Still, he is also aware that he now leads a team capable of competing, far from feeling ineffectual from the early stages of the season.
“In qualifying, they perhaps have a two/three-tenths advantage over us, and in the race a bit more. But it’s hard to estimate because we don’t know if they were pushing to the maximum. But the feeling is more positive: if you get back into this zone, you know that if you take a step, you can put some pressure on them.”
“When we were a second [behind], it was useless, but now with a good start, we can be there, we can fight. I think in Jeddah, it was quite easy [for them] to overtake because they had a better top speed – it was a choice – but on some occasions, we will have other opportunities.” – the French manager pointed out.
The Red Bull advantage is still such that Fred Vasseur and the team cannot think about the standings. However, looking at it, it is clear that the progress made by the Scuderia compared to last year is unmistakable. With 46 points in 2 races against last year’s 25, and this year, they were even achieved by an 18-year-old rookie who had never had the chance to test the SF-24 before Free Practice 3 in Jeddah.
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“I’m not focused on the championship at all, but I think we got something like 45 points (actually 46) in total, while last year after three races, we had 25. Having a good starting point and a good level of performance is important. It’s essential to have a good start. Also, I believe that the car is, I don’t want to say easy to drive, and in any case, it has nothing to do with performance – but I think the car today is easier to drive than a year ago.” – the Ferrari boss continued.
“This is a good basis for development because the car is much easier for the drivers to read, and it is more understandable for us to know where we need to improve. In this situation, it’s a step forward for us in the overall picture.”
Now Ferrari’s mission will be to recover more ground on Red Bull. The upcoming updates will be aimed at finding more performance, but the team does not expect a single component to make a real difference. It will be a matter of a combination of innovations to enhance a well-conceived car that is easier to drive, has achieved 2 podiums in two races, and promises to be a solid foundation for the months ahead.
“Performance comes from every part, and it’s never guaranteed that you have a component that gains you five tenths on the car,” he said – If we want to make up ground, we have to improve in every single area. That was our approach last year, and in the end, it paid off well. We’ve taken a decent step, but in every single sector, we have to keep pushing. Aerodynamics are certainly crucial. We have updates in the pipeline, but I’m sure everyone does. The most important thing is to bring updates that can be used on the car, and I think last year, we did a good job,” Fred Vasseur concluded.
