Vasseur 'Not A Fan' Ferrari Tire Degradation Theories

F1
Friday, 15 December 2023 at 09:00
charles leclerc ferrari car22
Frederic Vasseur shared his opinion on the origin of Ferrari's improvements in the later stages of the 2023 season.
Ferrari was one of the two teams in 2022 that built a car capable of challenging for the title. At the beginning of the 2022 season, the Italian team seemed even faster than Red Bull.
However, everything has gone downhill for the Scuderia since then, and one of the main reasons seemed to be the high tire degradation of their cars.
In 2023, Ferrari started off as the fourth-best team on the grid but managed to make improvements towards the end of the season, finishing in third place, only three points behind Mercedes.
The Italian team was second best in terms of points scored in the second half of the season, so it seemed like Ferrari got its tire degradation problem more under control.
On the other hand, the team's principal Frederic Vasseur explained he thinks its all matter of the pace in the car. He told the media:
"I'm not a big fan of this. Because it is a matter of pace, as when you don't have the pace, you want to push more, and pushing more damages the tires."
Tire management plays a huge role during F1 races. Drivers that can manage their tires better can make them last further, but also deliver more speed when needed.
On the other hand, when drivers need to push their cars in order to keep pace with other teams (who are managing their tires), their tires will degrade faster.
Vasseur believes the advantage in pace is what allowed his drivers to manage their tires better, and sees it as a key to success in the future.
"I think overall, we had an advantage of pace, and when you have an advantage of pace, you can manage and don't have the tire degradation."