Fred Vasseur is encouraged that Ferrari has stepped out of its comfort zone in F1 2024, as he believes this has been one of Red Bull’s “biggest assets” in recent times.
Although Ferrari made a misstep earlier this year with the upgrades for the Spanish Grand Prix, the Scuderia had been in good form prior to that, starting at the Dutch Grand Prix last year when they seemed to turn things around with the SF-23.
Ferrari copies “one of Red Bull’s biggest trump cards”
Ferrari has achieved more podium finishes than any other team except the dominant Red Bull team and continued that trend earlier this season with the SF-24, an evolution of the 2023 F1 car.
However, they accelerated their development schedule and brought new parts including a revised underbody to the Spanish Grand Prix, which caused the car to rock and forced them to roll back the updates.
But despite the negative impact on recent results, Vasseur sees encouraging signs that today’s Ferrari team is more willing to be “aggressive” and take risks.
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“We have become more aggressive,” he said Car Motor and Sport of the last 12 months. “For me, this new attitude was more formative than anything else.
“It means daring to step out of your comfort zone. Whether it’s the amount of fuel you need for the race, the weight, the cooling or the setup of the car. In my opinion, that was one of Red Bull’s biggest assets.”
Ferrari team boss accepts the “price” of risk versus reward
However, Vasseur defended his position when it was pointed out that risks could lead to mistakes, as was the case with Ferrari’s updates in Spain.
“Yes, but it also sharpens the senses,” he insisted.
“Example: If you want to push the weight to the limit, you have to think carefully beforehand about how much weight the car will lose during the race due to wear on the underbody, tires, brakes and oil consumption. That way you learn to push the limits in all areas.”
“If the result is three kilograms and you lose four, you have already lost weight. The same goes for the cooling. I can open the panel one level further than the limit. Then I have a nice life without worries.”
“Depending on the circumstances, I may have to be a little more economical here and there during the race, but the bottom line is that it costs less than it brings. Every kilo too much, every degree cooler than necessary, costs you three hundredths. In total, you’ve given away a tenth. That can make up three starting positions.”
“If you operate at the limit, you have to think a lot more. The more attention you pay to a topic, the more precisely you work. This way of thinking continues in all other areas.”
“Of course,” he admitted, “you run the risk of making mistakes. If things are going really badly, you just have to slow down a bit to stay within the limits, otherwise you will be disqualified.”
“But that’s the price you have to pay if you want to be at the top. Our competitors see it that way too.”
“With such a balanced field, you can’t leave anything behind. That’s why I take responsibility for mistakes. If they happen because we were aggressive, then I accept them. If they arise from negligence, then that’s a different story.”
Ferrari has fallen to third place in the constructors’ championship behind McLaren, 21 points behind the team from Woking.
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