Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur has praised Red Bull’s and Max Verstappen efforts in their record-breaking winning run in the 2023 Formula 1 season, saying that the Dutchman’s lack of mistakes not only in 2023, but in the last two seasons is “just mega”.
Photo Credits: Scuderia Ferrari
Ferrari was Red Bull’s closest challenger at the Italian GP, as the Monza circuit suited the SF-23 low drag characteristics, getting pole position and leading the race for 15 laps in the hands of Carlos Sainz, before eventually losing out to Verstappen with a lock-up down into the first chicane. Afterwards, neither Sainz or Charles Leclerc was able to keep pace with Verstappen and Sergio Perez, finishing P3 and P4, respectively.
Speaking to selected media after the race in Monza, Vasseur said the performance gap between the two teams wasn’t as big at the last race, but highlighted how perfect execution from both Verstappen and his team meant they didn’t make “a single mistake” even under pressure for the first time in a while:
“After a weekend like [Monza], you can say that we are not that far away,” he said. “In terms of pace during the weekend, one or two tenths, not much more to stay in front. But it is like it is, they are still in front.
“Both of them are not doing mistakes, at least this weekend. I was expecting that putting Max under pressure or into the fight, he could do some mistakes, but it was not the case at all this weekend, again.
“But let’s try again, let’s be a bit more performant, to stay close of the two Red Bulls. And it will be the best way to fight and perhaps to put them a little bit more under pressure.”
The 55-year-old explained how the versatility of the all-conquering RB19 meant that despite F1 going through “all aspects” of track demands from the Monaco GP, back in May, through to Monza in September, Red Bull were still fastest in every single one of them over a race distance:
“I think what is impressive, for sure, they always had a mega pace,” he said. “From Monza to Monaco, you can cover all the aspects of the track. They were performant, and this is impressive.”
And despite saying that the pace of the RB19 is “mega”, the Frenchman admitted that the “most impressive” part of the current Red Bull dominance is the consistency shown by Max Verstappen, going even as far as saying the Dutchman’s impressive run is not only about ten consecutive race wins, but the last two seasons as a whole:
“I think the most impressive for me is that Max, it’s not just about the last ten races, but it’s about the last two years.
“I would say that he didn’t do a single mistake. In the races, he didn’t do a single mistake. For sure, it’s easier to not do mistakes when you have a margin on the others. But even in these kind of circumstances, he’s able to manage the situation very well.”
The Ferrari team principal admitted he was “not very confident” that they could take the fight to Verstappen after the Dutchman showed no signs of slowing down after 10 laps of constant pressure on Sainz, and praised the two-time champion’s risk-management approach that meant he once again avoided mistakes:
“He put some pressure on Carlos, but never too much. He didn’t take risks, and he knew that he had a difference of pace. He was convinced, I think like Checo [Perez] did [in Bahrain, to get ahead of Charles Leclerc], that if it’s not possible during the first stint, it will be around the pitstop.
“I was not very confident in the fight with Max. After lap ten, when I saw that the pace was there and he had no degradation, I said it would be quite difficult. But overall, I think in this kind of race, what was the most impressive, to not do a single mistake over two seasons, it’s just mega.”
Verstappen now has a lead of 145 points the drivers’ championship, and Red Bull leads the constructors’ by 310 points as F1 heads to final part of the season.
