Ferrari Team Principal Thinks There Is 'Clearly Huge Potential' For Improvement

Wednesday, 29 November 2023 at 12:00

Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur indicates what separated his team from second place in the Championship in 2023.

Ferrari went into the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi with a four-point gap to second place in the Championship and very decent chances of snatching it from the Mercedes F1 team.

However, the Italian team missed out on the Championship by a mere three points in the end. The team's principal, Frederic Vasseur, told the media at Yas Marina Circuit:

"We started on the wrong foot in Bahrain [with Leclerc's retirement, we were P3 and we also got a penalty for the second race [in Saudi Arabia]. It meant for Charles it was almost 25 points [worth] of penalties, plus the points you are giving the others."

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Ferrari has been probably one of the teams that struggled the most with technical problems this season. Moreover, the Italian team made more strategic mistakes than their closest competitors.

"But it is not only this one. I made a list a couple of times in my head of the classification without the issues, and overall, I think that you have ups and downs throughout the season."

All in all, Ferrari proved at the end of the season, mainly in qualifying sessions, that they had a faster car than Mercedes, but it seems they were just less consistent.

"For sure, we gave up more points than our direct competitors, but it is another topic to work on for next year and to be more opportunistic and efficient."

On the other hand, Ferrari might also look at this problem and think there is a huge potential for improvement for the 2024 season not only in terms of car development but also in other aspects which is what Vasseur suggested:

"Everybody can race with 'if' and do a better job, and it means that 'if' is completely forbidden in the factory. It is not to find an excuse because it is our fault. It is not that we are saying it is not. We have to improve, and there is clearly huge potential."