Ferrari Has 'Still Two Attempts' To Catch Mercedes After 'Missed Opportunity' In Brazil
F1Wednesday, 08 November 2023 at 15:00
Scuderia Ferrari F1 team principal Frederic Vasseur commented on the Constructors' Championship fight for the second place with Mercedes.
Both Ferrari drivers have struggled with technical issues during the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz, who finished the race in P6, complained on the team radio about his clutch.
On the other side of the garage, Charles Leclerc did not even start the race because he crashed his Ferrari during the formation lap due to technical problems. Frederic Vasseur told the media:
"Now, we have to stay calm to understand what's happened to avoid any issues in the future. The pace over the weekend was not that bad."
Fortunately for Ferrari, Mercedes struggled even more, with Lewis Hamilton falling from the P5 starting position to P8 and George Russell retiring because of overheating problems.
"We were in a good position, and it's a missed opportunity because we are catching up Mercedes a little bit. With Charles on the first row with fresh tyres, it could've been so much better."
The current gap between the two teams in the fight for second place in the Constructors' Championship is 20 points. With two races remaining in the season, Ferrari has a chance of overtaking the Silver Arrows.
"We have still two attempts, Vegas and Abu Dhabi. Vegas could be a chaotic one and if we have the same pace as this weekend and Mercedes the same pace as this weekend then we have another opportunity."
On the other hand, Mercedes does not tend to have bad weekends like this. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff stated the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix was the worst weekend for the team in 13 years.
With the Championship title decided already in Japan, F1 fans can at least look forward to the battle between Ferrari and Mercedes, which will ramp up in the last two races of the season.
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