All areas under the microscope as Ferrari say they are working “flat out” on updates to close the gap to Red Bull. Ferrari’s Formula One team is working on radical updates for the 2023 car as they are “not satisfied” with current form, team boss Fred Vasseur has said.
Last year’s runners-up behind Red Bull have dropped to fourth in the constructors’ standings behind Aston Martin and Mercedes ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.
Delay until Spanish Grand Prix
Unlike its rivals, who made extensive upgrades after cancelling the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix for the unrepresentative Monaco race, Ferrari decided to postpone the bodywork upgrades planned for Imola until the next race in Barcelona.
Aston Martin waived the postponement and Fernando Alonso finished a representative second in Monaco, while Esteban Ocon’s revised Alpine finished third. The Mercedes drivers were pleased with the performance of their upgrades, finishing fourth and fifth.
Best Ferrari driver in the Principality was local hero Charles Leclerc, who finished sixth in the race after a five-place grid penalty for obstructing Lando Norris in qualifying.
Fast updates have priority
Speaking to selected members of the media, Vasseur says it would be “a mistake to compare approaches” after rivals with improved cars overtook Ferrari in Monaco.
However, the new team boss stresses that the factory is “working flat out” on updates for the SF-23 as they are “not satisfied” with the results.
He says: “We are pushing the factory like hell to bring updates as soon as possible because we are not satisfied. I think the results we are getting at the moment are not our target and we want to get better. We will definitely continue to develop.”
Vasseur, who always stressed at the start of his tenure at Maranello that he expected “hard work”, says he has not set performance targets for Ferrari. Instead, he says he will monitor progress from day to day:
“The goal is not a specific ranking. What I have to work on is that tomorrow we do a better job than today.”
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All areas under the microscope
And that’s how it should go: “Once we’ve analysed where we have weaknesses on the car, in the team’s approach or in the garage, we’ll pull out all the stops to fix them.”
Vasseur explains that Ferrari rehearsed “thousands” of pit stops over the winter to address a weakness for 2022. He is now appealing to “every single employee” to improve Ferrari’s performance.
“It would be a mistake to think that the lack of performance is only due to aerodynamics. Performance comes from everywhere: the fast production of parts, the strategy, the decisions on the pit wall, the mechanics, the pit stops, the reliability. Everyone in the company contributes to that performance.”
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Radical new Ferrari arrives in Barcelona
Photographers in the paddock have spotted some of the upgrades mentioned by the team boss, including a radical departure from the Ferrari ‘inwash’ side-pod design, in favour of a ‘down-wash’ Red Bull style ‘pod.
Inspite of the rhetoric from Vassuer, it now appears Ferrari have ‘compared approaches’ from others, namely Red Bull. The radical new side-pod clearly taking inspiration from Red Bull. Something Mercedes themselves have leaned toward with their big update last race.
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