To Barcelona Ferrari closes in fifth place with Carlos Sainz, while Charles Leclerc stops on the edge of the points. The SF-23 raced in Spain with major updates, but reviews are mixed. On the one hand Carlos Sainz celebrates the improvements, while on the other Charles Leclerc still speaks of a very unpredictable car. The Team Principal is divided between the two visions and in the post-Grand Prix press conference he tried to bring order to the Ferrari picture.
Positive developments
“The point of reference is Miami and I think we have made some steps forward”, Vasseur begins. “We managed to put Carlos on the front row. We have made some progress compared to Aston Martin, but obviously it is not enough. There remains a gap from Mercedes in the race and it is on this that we must concentrate our efforts in the company. If we want to have a good season, it is on Sunday that the points are made”.
“The main problem for us is not the single lap performance on these corners, but the inconsistency of pace”, continues the Team Principal. “With Charles we did two stints on the same compound. In the first the balance was completely off, while in the other it was ok. Carlos also had decent first and third stints, but in the middle one it was completely lost”. Vasseur therefore believes that Ferrari especially lacked pace in Spain, without suffering from excessive tire degradation: “I don’t think the problem was tire degradation. Could be if pushed harder, but that wasn’t our problem. Carlos had good pace in the closing laps, so he means we are not losing tyres. Charles, on the other hand, complained about the balance in the initial stint from the first to the last lap”.
New package, same problems
The words of the Ferrari Team Principal outline a picture similar to that which emerged on the other tracks: “It’s difficult to make comparisons with Miami, because it was a completely different track both in terms of asphalt and in terms of energy transferred to the tyres. However, the general picture is similar, because we do well in qualifying, but it’s not the same in the race. There are also big differences on the same machine between the various stints on different compounds and sometimes even with the same compound”.
“I don’t think it depends on the type of track. Miami was very different, at least on the tarmac, and we had the same picture in qualifying and the race. Mercedes also brought a big update to Monaco, but the gap remained the same. So I think we did a step forward in terms of performancebut inconsistency is still a problem. […] When it comes to improving the potential of the car, one must also bear in mind that Mercedes hasn’t been sleeping since Miami. For our part, we see that what they have brought has helped them in terms of pure performance.”
The problems are well known in Maranello, but it is still difficult to understand their origin. Vasseur continues: “If we knew, it would already be solved. There are a thousand people focused on this and it is difficult, because it is not always the same problem. It should also be considered that in qualifying we travel in clean air, while in the race we don’t. Leclerc, for example, ran in traffic today. It’s not just that though. Sainz traveled in clean air in the second stint and it was still a disaster.” If on the one hand it is difficult to understand where the inconsistency of the SF-23 comes from, on the other hand there seems to be certainties as to what is not the cause. “The problem is not so much on the chassis side”, says Vasseur.
More updates to come
The Ferrari Team Principal confirms the announcement made on recent occasions regarding the arrival of new updates: “Sometimes when you struggle with the pace of development, you decide to try another directionand that could unlock new potential. That is exactly what we have done with this package and we will have new parts arriving in the next races.” Vasseur remains confident he can close the gap to the Brackley team: “We are a little faster than Mercedes in qualifying and slower in the race. I’m sure that as soon as we solve this inconsistency problem we can close the gap. With Red Bull instead it’s another story: they are faster than us both in qualifying and in the race”.
Returning to the Barcelona match, Frederic Vasseur does not regret the strategies taken: “This race was particularly difficult to interpret for the tyres. Some teams have kept two sets of hard, others two sets of medium and so on. It’s the first time we’ve had such different strategies between the teams. We didn’t expect the softs to hold up to 25rpm”. In closing, the Team Principal was unable to give further information on the alleged anomaly that slowed Leclerc in qualifying: “We haven’t figured it out yet, because by regulation we couldn’t work on the car tonight. As a precaution, therefore, we have replaced the entire rear axle and will carry out investigations in Maranello”.
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