After the Spanish Grand Prix, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur provided insightful commentary on the state of the team’s development and their recent performance compared to competitors.
When asked about Ferrari’s current rate of development, particularly in comparison to McLaren, Vasseur disagreed with the assessment that the Woking-based team has got the jump.
Ferrari had started the 2024 season the stronger, with their lead car finishing ahead of a McLaren from Saudi Arabia to Japan. However, since McLaren’s game-changing update in Miami, the Scuderia has only finished ahead in one Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc victorious in Monaco.
McLaren continues to close in the Constructors’ Championship. 33 points separate them after Spain. Ferrari’s update last weekend has still yet to be maximised.
Vasseur decided to rewind the clock a year to show Ferrari’s progress versus McLaren.
“McLaren, a year ago, they finished the British GP 25 seconds ahead of us. I am not sure if the rate of development is much bigger than what we are doing,” Vasseur stated, emphasising that development is not solely about immediate results but also about consistent progress over time.
Regarding the Spanish GP itself, the conversation shifted to the performance dynamics between drivers and their cars. Max Verstappen won the race, but Lando Norris, who secured pole position, believed he should have claimed victory.
Vasseur was asked for his perspective on who had the fastest car during the race.
“It depends on the strategy. Sometimes you can have a feeling that you have a better car, and yes, yesterday he (Lando) did pole position. But if you want to compare the cars, you shouldn’t look at just the pure potential.”
Vasseur elaborated on the complexities involved in assessing car performance, noting the impact of various factors such as tire compounds and track conditions.
“You have to use the different compounds, with the track evolution you can have a car doing better at the beginning of the race and another one at the end, one can have better grip at the start and one can have it in the race.
“The set-up could be more adapted to the soft or medium and we have to deal with it. Their performances weren’t copy & paste but they were along the same lines,” the French team principal explained.
