After seeing one of his drivers on the top step of the podium for the first time as a Ferrari team principal, Frederic Vasseur admitted the team “didn’t expect” to have such good pace around the Marina Bay Street Circuit. He also explained how the team did not “sacrifice” Charles Leclerc to help Carlos Sainz take their first win of the season.
Photo Credits: Scuderia Ferrari
Carlos Sainz stormed through Singapore to take Ferrari’s first win of the 2023 season amidst a dominant run from Red Bull, in a weekend where the Scuderia “didn’t expect” to have such a strong package.
Coming off the back of a fantastic result at the Italian GP after fighting both Red Bulls throughout the race, team boss Frederic Vasseur said the team had seen a “step forward” in its performance, but wasn’t expecting it to translate between the high-speed, low drag circuit to the twisty, high-downforce loaded Marina Bay circuit.
“It was a good one,” he said after breathing a sigh of relief. “Coming after Monza [which] was already a good weekend for us – with a good quali and a good fight in the race with Red Bull – we had the feeling that we did step forward in Monza, but we didn’t expect to have [such] good pace in Singapore.
“But from lap one in FP1, we were there and I think we had the pace from the beginning of the weekend with the two drivers, and it went very well.”
The 55-year-old praised Sainz’s “perfect” management in the late stages of the race, and revealed the Spaniard was suffering with getting his tyres up to working temperature after a lengthy virtual safety car for Esteban Ocon’s stricken Alpine:
“On top of this, I think that Carlos [Sainz] did a mega race today, with everything under control and the plan was perfect with Charles [Leclerc] going P2 at the beginning with a set of softs.
“But with Carlos we were a bit unlucky with the right rear that was a bit affected by the [slow pace during] the virtual safety car, but [he] was already in control of the situation and was perfect.”
With Leclerc jumping up to second at the start, and the team asking the Monegasque to increase the gap to his team-mate as the first stint unfolded, many considered the red team to be sacrificing him for the benefit of Sainz, including George Russell, who voiced his thoughts over the radio to his Mercedes team. When asked about this, Vasseur explained Leclerc’s starting position of third meant it was “no drama” that he had to give up a few seconds after gaining a place off the line:
“This didn’t come from us, it came from [George] Russell, he can say whatever he wants on the radio,” said Vasseur about the Briton’s remarks over the radio. “[Charles] was P2. When you are starting P3, to be sacrificed when you are P2 is not a drama.”
Despite showing impressive pace for two consecutive races in two completely different tracks, Vasseur is adamant that the team will approach the Japanese GP as a “clean sheet” and is not getting carried away by recent form, despite admitting they took a “step forward” since the Italian GP – putting it down to “small things” and a confidence boost after a strong result in Monza:
“We will start from scratch next week in Suzuka, it will be a clean sheet, and we’ll have to develop the pace over the weekend” he admitted. “But I think from Monza, we did a step also in terms of confidence to the team.
“Even if the gap to Red Bull was big in the previous weekend, it’s the addition of small things and the confidence is doing a lot [for Ferrari].
“But I’m not over-confident before the next one, I know that we have to do the job again,” concluded the Frenchman.
With today’s result, Ferrari closed the gap on Mercedes in the constructors’ championship to just 24 points, and is once again within reach of taking the runners-up spot from the Brackley squad.
