In the classic press conference opening the weekend, Frederic Vasseur discussed all the topics of the moment. All attention is turned to the race in the Principality, a great opportunity to aim for victory, given the remarkable competitiveness of Ferrari on the flying lap. However, there are comments on the market rumors of the last week, this time around Lewis Hamilton, and a preview of what the decision for the recovery of the Imola Grand Prix could be.
Monaco great opportunity
The Team Principal began with a small briefing on the difficult race in Miami: “I don’t want to reveal too many details. What is certain, however, is that in Miami the problem was not degradation, but lack of pace. Overall I think it came from the fact that as soon as we started pushing, the tires got hot.” The expectations for the next stage, however, are much better: “In Monaco the pace in qualifying is much more important than in Miami and Baku. We are fully focused on qualifying, like everyone else. No one on the grid will prepare for the race. I think we had the pace on the flying lap in Miami and Baku. This track is also more favorable to our car”.
“Since the beginning of the season we were in a position to be able to fight for pole position”, continues Vasseur. “When you start from the front row in Monaco, the chances of winning are greater. It will certainly be a great opportunity for us.” The Team Principal then answered questions about Ferrari’s strategic decisions at the last Monaco Grand Prix: “Everyone on the grid makes mistakes. After the race it is much easier to analyze the strategy than in between. I think at one point last year it was easier to make the right decision for who was second. You could make a choice and if it was right you ended up in the lead and you were a superhero, otherwise you remained second. No comparisons can be made. At the beginning of the year we have taken measures regarding strategies. So far we haven’t had really difficult races strategically, but I’m very happy with the work done.”
Development chapter
In the pit lane, Mercedes captured the attention with its renewed W14, but the SF-23 will also race with some new features: “It is expected that no updates will be brought to Monaco, as there is much more focus on the handling and set-up. But this weekend we will bring to the track what was foreseen for Imola and then we will take another step to Barcelona next week. Monte Carlo is not the easiest place to bring something new. However, if developments were scheduled to arrive at Imola, it would be stupid not to put them in the car”.
The news of the stage in Monaco will be only the first of a series of developments in sequence. The SF-23 is about to change its skin progressively, without substantial packages as instead done by Mercedes: “We won’t be carrying big packs every five races. We will bring small updates instead. Barcelona will not be a last resort, as we will have other developments in Canada and then in Austria. We are planning to have updates at every race”.
No contact with Hamilton
“Can I be joking? Two races ago it was said that Sainz would go to Audi. The next was Leclerc in Mercedes. I end up alone!”Vasseur jokes to the timely question about market rumors, to then resume his seriousness: “At this point in the season, there’s a different entry every week. We didn’t send Hamilton an offer. […] I think every team on the grid would like to have Lewis at some point. It would be hypocritical not to say so. But I’ve been talking to him almost every Sunday for twenty years now. I don’t want to stop because of these rumors.”
In any case, the rumors about the driver changeover did not lead the Team Principal to sit down with Leclerc and Sainz for the renewal of the contract: “The most important thing for us is to stay focused on developing this season. In two months we will start talking about the future and it will be time to discuss. Now the priority and take a step forward to fight with Red Bull. We agreed on that we will discuss the contract later and we are not going to change this because of the rumors.”
Possible extension for Imola
The Ferrari number 1 then spoke on the other topics of the Monegasque week, starting with the agreement between Honda and Aston Martin: “It always makes sense to work as a team. It’s always best to have a partnership between the engine supplier and the team that builds the chassis. From my point of view, Honda is more than welcome. It also shows that Formula 1 is doing well. We will have six engineers, while a few years ago we struggled to get to three. It is also an opportunity for Aston Martin”.
Formula 1 is back on track the week after the cancellation of the Imola race. Vasseur teased what the most likely recovery decision might be: “We have not discussed with the FOM and I do not know the agreement with the promoter. We will probably find a solution for extend the Imola contract. I think we’ll discuss it this weekend. Looking at the situation in Emilia Romagna, I think canceling the tender was the right choice. Running would have been a huge mistake.”
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