Frederic Vasseur emphasizes that Ferrari did a good job towards the end of the 2023 season, but stumbled over expectations at the beginning of the year
“There were races where we were definitely the second-fastest car and other races where we were maybe the fourth or fifth-fastest car. So it was up and down,” sums up Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc at the end of the 2023 Formula 1 season
The Scuderia finished the world championship in third place behind Red Bull and Mercedes, but was able to take the only non-Red Bull victory of the year in Singapore thanks to Carlos Sainz. “To be honest, it was a disappointing season,” emphasizes Leclerc.
Because: “After last year, we had expected to be fighting for the championship this season. But after the first race, we immediately realized how difficult it would be compared to Red Bull,” explains last year’s runner-up.
Leclerc finished the 2022 season in second place in the world championship with three victories, and Ferrari also finished runner-up in the constructors’ championship. In 2023, Leclerc finished fifth in the world championship without a win, while Ferrari also failed to finish higher than third.
The main reason for this was the dominance of Red Bull, “who had taken a big step forward [in the winter], especially in terms of race pace,” emphasizes Leclerc. This was noticeable right at the start of the season, while Ferrari themselves had not made such a big step forward.
Leclerc hopes for a “car capable of winning” in 2024
As a result, the season was “a bit disappointing” from the very first race, said Leclerc, who quickly realized that he would not be able to fight for the world title in 2023. “I think we made great progress over the course of the season,” he emphasizes.
“Of course, there is still a lot to do, especially in the race,” he says, but makes it clear that a step forward has been made, “which is positive and gives me confidence for the future.” At the same time, however, there is still “a big gap” to Red Bull.
“That’s why we will work hard during the winter break and hopefully come back stronger next year with a car capable of winning,” he emphasizes and explains: “At the moment, our car is not good enough and not consistent enough, especially on the long runs. “
“Everything depends on details, we have to get everything right,” he knows, and Team Principal Frederic Vasseur explains in this context: “I am happy about the last two events, because they were two completely contrasting [conditions].”
Las Vegas had “very high speeds” and “very cold conditions”, whereas Abu Dhabi had “a lot of medium-speed corners and very hot conditions”, according to Vasseur. Despite this, Leclerc finished second behind Max Verstappen in both races
Vasseur: Don’t know what the others are doing
“Red Bull is still faster than us, and we can still improve. But at least compared to Zandvoort and some other races, we have taken a big step forward,” emphasizes Vasseur, who is also cautiously optimistic about 2024.
At the same time, however, he also warns against exaggerated expectations, because: “I think the expectations [2023] were a bit too high at the beginning,” he emphasizes on Sky. Although the last few races of the season were “very good”, the early stages of the season were pretty tough.
He therefore “didn’t want to be too optimistic” for 2024, because they made that mistake in 2023 and were then disappointed. Ferrari simply had to concentrate on its own work in the winter and not think about the world championship
After all, you are always dependent on what the other teams do. “You can make up a second, but if the others gain 1.5 [seconds], then you look stupid. But if they only make up five tenths, then you look like a hero,” explains Vasseur.
“At the end of the day, it’s a comparison and we just focus on ourselves and try to get the best out of ourselves,” he clarifies, but also emphasizes that the last races of the 2023 season at least give him courage for the coming year.
Ferrari wants to take the “momentum” of the last races with it
“We were always on the front row, we were always fighting for pole position, we were battling with Red Bull in the last two or three races,” he recalls. Second place in the constructors’ world championship had already been lost before and not just in Abu Dhabi.
“I don’t want to be too optimistic, but if you look at the last part of the season, I think we need to build on this momentum,” says Vasseur. In fact, Ferrari finished on the podium in four of the last five races of the season and even took three pole positions.
However, Verstappen was always ahead in the race, which is why Vasseur praises him: “He has had a mega season. In the first two or three events, he was battling with Checo [Perez] and then he was on another planet. He hardly made a mistake all season.”
Although they got much closer over the course of the year, the Dutchman was only really “under pressure” in a few races. Vasseur emphasizes: “He will make more mistakes when he is under pressure. But nobody has been able to put him under pressure this season.”
Ferrari has only managed to do so “in the last two or three races” and previously in Singapore. And if they succeed in putting Verstappen and Red Bull under pressure more often in 2024, then the bulls will also make more mistakes, Vasseur is certain.