Vasseur: Ferrari’s victory over Red Bull in Monaco “changes nothing”
Fred Vasseur, director of the Ferrari team, believes that "nothing changes" in his team's approach to beat Red Bull, despite their victory at the Monaco Grand Prix.
During the Monaco weekend, Ferrari and McLaren dominated while the championship leader, Red Bull, struggled to cope with the bumps of the street circuit and could only finish sixth thanks to Max Verstappen, caught between the two Mercedes drivers.
Fred Vasseur acknowledged that the pack had tightened up in 2024 and that the three teams that had won races this season could all claim more victories depending on the layout of each upcoming circuit.
The Frenchman insisted on adding that it was important for Ferrari to maintain its progress, and knowing that Red Bull was not unbeatable did not change the team’s motivation to fight. He declared that it would be the worst-case scenario for Ferrari to believe that its work was already done.
« It’s not a question of motivation because the motivation has been there for a while, but it’s a matter of self-confidence for the pilots, for the team », he explains. « And, of course, as soon as you are in a position to win, you pay more attention to details, you have a sort of snowball effect. This is part of the improvement of the last six or seven months. »
« We must continue like this, but the worst-case scenario would be to imagine that it’s done, that it will be like this until the end. We will have different circuits with different configurations, different characteristics. We are competing more with McLaren or Red Bull and there will be ups and downs until the end of the season. We must score good points when we are not at the top and be able to win when we are. But nothing changes. »
Is Red Bull still the leader?
Fred Vasseur added that Red Bull will continue to have the advantage on the upcoming circuits of the calendar and that, even in races where Ferrari may not be leading, the team will have to be opportunistic to obtain a good total of points.
« I think that currently we have at least three teams, I think Mercedes is not so far, capable of fighting for pole position, capable of fighting for the victory. It’s exciting and I hope it will be like this until the end of the season.
« Of course, depending on the circuits, we may have an advantage for Red Bull, Ferrari, or McLaren. And we will have to be opportunistic. This was not always the case in the past. Last year, we lost far too many points during the season, and this season, we have also taken a huge step forward in this regard.
A season finale where the fight could be tight. « We are much more opportunistic, and it will be like this until the end of the season, that the fight will be tight. »
The victory of Charles Leclerc at home allowed the Monegasque to come back to 31 points from Max Verstappen in the championship. In the constructors’ standings, the Italian team is now only 24 points behind Red Bull before the Canadian Grand Prix.
