Did Ferrari take a step forward during the first year under Frédéric Vasseur? There is probably no simple or unequivocal answer to this question. The stable’s good form at the end of the season definitely boosted its confidence, but bad luck and technical failures continued to haunt the Scuderia. Despite the negatives, stable boss Frédéric Vasseur highlighted Ferrari’s performance in the second half of the year.
Progress was noticeable despite the absence of major improvement packages. After the summer break, the engineers basically just prepared a new floor for the Japanese Grand Prix, which stabilized the car and helped Charles Leclerc find his lost confidence. While you might criticize Ferrari, the fact is that the team almost completely erased a 70-point deficit to Mercedes after a disastrous first half of the season.
Frederic Vasseur he has been in command on the bridge in Maranello for exactly one year. He also made some personnel and organizational changes, but most of them slipped under the public’s radar. It seems that the French manager is trying to create a defensive fortress inside the factory, from which absolutely nothing can penetrate.
“We’ve already replaced a few people, but I don’t like to say names, I never have and I never will.” he stated unequivocally Vasseuras quoted by Motorsport.com. “At the end of the day, it’s not about one person – the same applies to me – the most important thing is our team. I’m proud of our response throughout the season, and I’m talking about everyone including the riders. After six demanding months, we were able to react and the results came from Monza.”
“We know that there are always personnel changes in the organization. That’s exactly what we do. We’re recruiting a lot of new people, but we know how it works in Formula 1. You have to wait for reinforcements for valid contracts. Once you realize you have a problem, it will take at least twelve months for the notice period to expire. When they arrive, they start working on the single-seater for the new season, not this year’s. All in all, you probably have to wait two or three years before they start working.” he explained Vasseur the situation his team is in.
“I think the most important thing for us was improvement and mentality. We took some chances and I think we were a little bit more aggressive.” added Fred in reference to the past season.
The first half of the year was not the least successful for Ferrari. It really looked like the team could be in danger of falling to fifth place in the Constructors’ Cup. Aston Martin had a great first third of the year, and McLaren launched a powerful counter-offensive in the summer. However, Ferrari also progressed, albeit without major improvements.
“When we said at the beginning that we were in a difficult situation, we were about two or three tenths behind. We moved one or two tenths. Now the starting grid is so compact and balanced that one or two tenths can completely change the picture of the weekend.” he said Vasseur.
“We improved in Japan, but it was nothing big. I still believe that our move in the last third of the season was much more about track work than development work. We were much more aggressive in the last part of the dock. When it comes to every tenth, you look for two hundredths here, two hundredths there, and in the end it’s a tenth.” he added Vasseur.
2023-12-27 23:17:09
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