Max Verstappen, a driver for Red Bull Racing, dominated the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, securing his ninth consecutive victory. Despite this, Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur remains optimistic about his team’s progress in Formula 1. Vasseur acknowledges that Ferrari is no longer in a “useless” position against Red Bull but acknowledges that there is still work to be done to close the gap between the two teams.
Ferrari focused on developing a more consistent and predictable car this season, aiming to avoid the unpredictable performance swings that plagued their previous car. The SF-24, Ferrari’s latest car, has shown promising results in testing and has positioned the team as Red Bull’s closest competitor this season. In the first two rounds of the championship, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari’s driver, has managed to split the two Red Bulls on the starting grid. Leclerc also achieved a third-place finish in Bahrain and replicated this performance in Jeddah.
However, despite Ferrari’s progress, Red Bull remains the team to beat. Max Verstappen’s dominant performance in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix showcased Red Bull’s superiority, with Leclerc finishing a significant 18.8 seconds behind. Vasseur reflects on Ferrari’s performance in the race, acknowledging both positive and negative emotions.
Vasseur emphasizes the positives, noting that Ferrari has made significant improvements compared to the previous year’s race in Jeddah. The team’s lap times were closer to the leaders, and they even managed to set the fastest lap in the final lap of the race. Vasseur sees this as a sign of improved management and consistency. However, he remains realistic about the gap between Ferrari and Red Bull, acknowledging that the latter still has a slight advantage in both qualifying and the race.
Despite this, Vasseur remains optimistic about Ferrari’s future prospects. He believes that the team has a stronger foundation to challenge Red Bull for victories, even before considering future developments. Vasseur also hints that Ferrari’s decision to prioritize a rear-wing configuration that provides more downforce was made with the intention of battling the cars behind them.
Overall, Vasseur’s outlook is positive, acknowledging the progress Ferrari has made but also recognizing the challenges they still face in catching up to Red Bull.
“When we reached a time of one second, it was ineffective. And today, that was a positive beginning. We have the potential to be competitive and engage in the battle.”
“I believe Jeddah offers ample opportunities for overtaking. And for our competitors, they had a superior maximum speed. It was a strategic decision. However, in certain situations, we will have alternative chances.”
Ferrari had emphasized that one of its primary goals with its revamped 2024 car concept was to eliminate the performance decline that hindered its race performance last season.
With that concern seemingly resolved, Vasseur dismissed the notion that the increased gap to Red Bull in race conditions could be attributed to fuel levels.
“I don’t believe the amount of fuel in the car is the problem,” he stated.
“I think it’s more about the initial phase where we were in the fight, and once we had clear air and Charles was somewhat on his own, he was able to catch up.
“Now, assessing race performance is never easy because you don’t know when the drivers are pushing, and so on.
“But if we compare to one year ago, where we were approximately 1.1 seconds behind in Jeddah and Bahrain, today we are only four, five, six tenths behind, reducing the gap by half.
“The performance improvement comes from various aspects. It’s not a single factor that adds five tenths to the car. This means that if we want to catch up, we need to enhance every aspect.
“Our approach last year was lacking. In the end, it paid off that we made a decent step forward, but we must continue to push in every area.
“Undoubtedly, aerodynamics always play a crucial role. We have upgrades in the pipeline, but like everyone else, we understand that the most important aspect is not just bringing upgrades, but bringing upgrades that can be effectively implemented on the car, and I believe we have done a good job in that regard.”