The basic concept of the SF-23 is not in question. Frederic Vasseur is convinced that the biggest problem that emerged in the Bahrain Grand Prix, namely tire management, is not linked to the single-seater ‘concept’, but to the general set-up of the car. On the reliability front, the Scuderia team principal wants to get more information before classifying the problem that blocked Charles Leclerc in Sakhir.
The faded podium disappointed, but in the medium and long term the goal for the Ferrari technicians is clear, the single-seater must allow drivers to be able to compete on equal terms with Red Bull. Jeddah becomes an important step, not only because there will be a week in Maranello to try and shed light on what happened yesterday in Bahrain, but also because of the different characteristics of the Saudi Arabian track. The hope is that some of the problems that emerged in Sakhir can be limited.
Here are some of the most important comments from team boss Frederic Vasseur after the 2023 Bahrain GP, in an interview for Motorsport Italy:
You replaced the battery pack and the control unit (CU) before the start of the race on Charles Leclerc’s car. Is this something to do with Charles retiring?
Frederic Vasseur: “Honestly, we still don’t know what happened. There was a problem a few hours before the race and we changed those components, but it’s too early to give a detailed answer.”
Do you think your single-seater can reach Red Bull levels with the development program or do you need something more?
Frederic Vasseur: “I don’t think it’s a matter of concept, and we shouldn’t move in this direction. I’m convinced it’s all about the configuration and some choices we’ve made on the car.”
Haas also suffered from race pace. Could it be a basic concept problem?
Frederic Vasseur: “It’s my position and I’m sure of it because I’ve never in my life seen a single-seater that is fast in one lap and that for a basic concept reason isn’t fast in the race pace. My point of view is that it’s a problem with the configuration of the single-seater”.
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What are the points you made clear this weekend?
Frederic Vasseur: “It is certainly a pity not to finish the race with one of the two single-seaters. Overall I would say that the final result is not the one expected ahead of this race. To sum up the situation, I’d say that we are there close on a fast lap, the performance is close to Red Bull, but if we want to improve we need to have a clear picture of the weekend as a whole and avoid reliability problems. To win we have to be able to manage the degradation”.
Did any critical issues emerge in the bench tests of the power units?
Frederic Vasseur: “We never expected to have such a problem. Today was the first time we ran into something unexpected, we covered 6/7000 kilometers in testing and previously the power unit had run on the dyno without any problems”.
Do you think the outcome of the weekend in Bahrain is an important setback in view of the season that awaits you?
Frederic Vasseur: “It’s never nice to start the championship with a retirement, I would certainly have preferred to finish the race, but I want to stay consistent in my position. I told the team before the tests in Bahrain that in any case the result that emerged would not be taken as a reference. The most important thing now is to be able to have a clear picture of the situation and the things we are lacking, to conduct an in-depth analysis and find the answers”.
Were you surprised to see the margin that separated you from Red Bull today? Are there some encouraging aspects in view of the next races?
Frederic Vasseur: “Some positives also emerged, having managed to be at their level in qualifying was good news, and it was also good news to see Charles able to stay within range in the first stint of the race. Then we all saw that Red Bull was able to tackle the second stint on the soft tyres, while for us it was necessary to switch to the hard tyres, and I think part of the gap was also linked to this aspect. The hardest thing in my role is being able to do a proper analysis of the situation, knowing what’s right and what’s wrong, and trying to make the right decisions when we have a better picture of the situation. We know exactly what we did this weekend, and we are confident we can take a step forward.”
