For the head of Ferrari, Frederic VasseurO Miami GP in Formula 1 and the victory of McLaren represent yet another sign that Red Bull is “no longer in the comfort zone” that marked the Austrian team’s 2023 season.
Last year, Red Bull won 21 of the season’s 22 grands prix and, at the start of this year, there was little evidence to suggest that the team and the dominant Max Verstappen could be prevented from repeating the feat.
But despite still having the fastest car in F1, Red Bull made its first slip-up in Australia due to reliability issues and was beaten again in Miami by Lando Norris, whose race pace in the upgraded McLaren was called “insane”. by Verstappen.
Although Vasseur warned that Red Bull are “still ahead”, he claims that the narrowing gap means that Ferrari and McLaren will be able to put more and more pressure on the Austrian team, which can no longer win races without someone going head to head. .
When asked by Motorsport.com If Miami is a taste of what’s yet to come in 2024, Vasseur responded: “I think it’s been almost like that since the start of the season, depending on the track. Honestly, Red Bull is still ahead. Probably Max could have won today without the story of the safety car. They took pole position, which means they still have a small advantage.”
“What is true is that compared to a year ago, when we managed to do a good job and put it all together, we are there. That means we are putting them a little bit under pressure, they need to be a little more aggressive with the strategy”.
“They are no longer in the comfort zone of last year where it didn’t matter what happened and after the second lap they were in front.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24,Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Erik Junius
The smaller pace deficit has greater implications for race strategy, as, with two equally strong cars, Ferrari and McLaren could begin to pose serious challenges to Verstappen, especially in races where Sergio Pérez is at the back, without being able to offer strategic coverage for the Dutch.
“I think it’s a game changer in race management,” Vasseur said. “This is an opportunity for us because if we take one more small step, I think we’ll really be in a position to fight with them every weekend.”
Following McLaren’s upgrades in Miami, Ferrari is preparing its first major upgrade package for next week’s race at the Emilia Romagna GP at Imola. Ferrari headed to the Fiorano test track this week to do a first test with the new parts during a 200km filming day.
