Frédéric Vasseur “convinced” that the SF-23 can rival Red Bull

By placing its two drivers in 3rd and 4th positions during the qualifying session, Ferrari could have expected a race with a lot of points at the finish. However, it turned out to be quite the opposite. With only 12 points, Ferrari missed out on this first race of the season. Although Leclerc had a good start with an overtaking manoeuvre on Pérez, the Monegasque driver was unable to keep up with the pace set by the Red Bulls and quickly found himself in 3rd place. Then, his SF-23 suffered an engine failure, forcing him to retire. His teammate Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, missed out on the podium after losing his duel against Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin.

However, Frédéric Vasseur, for his first time as director at Ferrari, is not really concerned about the future. When asked if the SF-23 could be improved to compete with Red Bull in Grand Prix races, he replied: “I am completely convinced of that. I have never seen a car capable of matching the pace of another car in qualifying and unable to do so in the race. It’s a matter of setup and choices on the car. But it’s definitely not a matter of concept. I don’t think we should go in that direction.”

The new race director of Ferrari admits, however, that there is still a lot of work to be done, particularly regarding the reliability of the SF-23. He also announced that an investigation will be conducted following the engine failure on Charles Leclerc’s SF-23. We must be fully realistic. If we want to improve, we must have a clear picture of the situation. The reliability is not up to par.

Leclerc doesn’t understand how Red Bull manages to have such a big gap with the other teams.

For Leclerc, the disappointment is great, as not only does he start his season with a retirement, but he also noticed the significant deficit of his team compared to Red Bull. « It’s not enough. We are far from Red Bull, so we have to push and understand what they found during the break because they are on another level in the race. For now, we don’t know why, but we are fast in qualifying, but not in the race. »

The Ferrari driver doesn’t understand how this situation is possible, while the SF-23 keeps up with the Red Bulls in qualifying. It’s very hard to comprehend because the car doesn’t change at all from qualifying to the race. But for some unknown reason, on one lap, we are very close to them, and in the race, we are a second behind in certain parts of the race. It’s crazy, the difference, we have to look into it. I think Red Bull has found something big, and we need to find it.

The Monegasque revealed that Ferrari has made gains in straight-line speed. However, he added that we are lacking in corners now. The Scuderia still has a lot of internal work to do in order to have a car capable of competing with the RB19, not just for one lap, but for an entire race.