Ferrari’s team principal, Frederic Vasseur, is eyeing the upcoming Chinese Grand Prix as a crucial opportunity to gauge the team’s performance against Red Bull in cooler conditions, building on their promising start to the F1 season.
Vasseur has pinpointed the Chinese Grand Prix as a pivotal moment for his team, following a strong showing on Sunday at Suzuka.
Scuderia Ferrari has emerged as the main challenger to Red Bull in the early stages of the season, showcasing significant improvements in various areas during the winter break.
Their impressive performance includes podium finishes in all four rounds so far, including a dominant one-two finish in Australia where they capitalized on Max Verstappen’s misfortune with a retirement.
This stellar run has earned them a solid 120 points in the constructors’ championship, firmly securing second place and boasting a comfortable 51-point lead over McLaren in third.
During the Japanese Grand Prix, drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc demonstrated Ferrari’s prowess by converting their strong qualifying positions of fourth and eighth into podium-worthy third and fourth places, respectively.
“I think everything went very well on Sunday,” Vasseur stated after the race. The strategy was a good one for both cars, the tyre management was under control, the pit stops went well.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris, who had initially qualified in third position, found himself falling behind the Ferrari duo during the race as he grappled with challenges in executing his tire strategy. Consequently, Norris was compelled to make an early pit stop on lap 11.
In stark contrast, Charles Leclerc managed to leverage a bold one-stop strategy following the red flag period, enabling him to extend the durability of a set of medium tires until lap 26.
Reflecting on last year’s struggles, where Ferrari often faced difficulties in managing their tires effectively during races, team principal Frederic Vasseur acknowledged that Suzuka’s reputation for being tough on tires highlighted a positive shift in the team’s approach this season.
“I think from the beginning of the season, we are much better on the tyre management and degredation. We were able to do the fastest lap in Jeddah. It was almost the same case today, but for one tenth [of a second].
“We did a good step forward. We worked a lot in the pre-season and we improved massively on the tyre management.”
The race victor, Max Verstappen, crossed the finish line with a commanding lead of over 20 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz, who secured third place. Red Bull attributed their success to the warmer temperatures experienced on Sunday.
In response to speculation about whether the competition would have been tighter in cooler conditions, Frederic Vasseur redirected his focus to the forthcoming race.
“I think in China we will have the opportunity to be tested in colder conditions,” remarked the 55-year-old, sidestepping further discussion. He added, “But I don’t know. I’m not sure if we are in a better shape – you never know about engine settings, the level of fuel.”
