“We are going in the right direction,” Fred Vasseur optimistic about Ferrari’s performance despite missing out on a double podium

Fred Vasseur talks about the current situation at Ferrari after the Austrian GP.

“We are going in the right direction,” Fred Vasseur optimistic about Ferrari’s performance despite missing out on a double podium

Fred Vasseur

The 2023, Austrian GP was a bit of a rollercoaster for Ferrari and Fred Vasseur. The team has always gotten into interesting situations. Every time they race at the Red Bull Ring. Many ups and downs have occurred, which include Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc colliding and retiring in the first lap in 2020. One good memory is that of Leclerc beating Max in front of his home crowd at the ring. 

While Ferrari were victorious in last year’s iteration of the Austrian Grand Prix, this year could have almost been the same, but it wasn’t. While Charles Leclerc seemed competitive during qualifying and sprint qualifying, his pace was of no match to Max Verstappen. During the main race itself, Ferrari had the chance to possibly get a double podium finish. However, sub optimal strategy calls ruined any chances of that.

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Charles Leclerc went on to finish second in the Austrian Grand Prix while Max Verstappen went on to win it for the fifth time. both the Ferrari swear at a disadvantage when they made a pitstop during the virtual safety car which was pretty slow. This and the penalties that Carlos Sainz got for abusing Track limits further went on to then what is the Spaniard from 4th to 6th place. Fred Vasseur stays optimistic nevertheless.

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Related: Aston Martin become the new F1 villains as they lash out after Austrian GP and challenge the race results

Fred Vasseur applauds the team for the progress made so far

Fred vasseur
Fred vasseur

In an interview, here is what he had to say. “We have to be focused, everybody has to be focused on ourselves. We are doing a good job together with the team, the drivers. We are going in the right direction. I want to keep this going,” he said. “For (Silverstone) I don’t know, it’s so tight. I don’t want to speak about Max, but in our group with Mercedes and Aston, you never know before the weekend who will be in a good position,” he continued. 

“With Max, there is still a gap. It means that we have to continue to develop the car and push. But what is positive for us is that we’re going into the right direction, compared to Montreal, we are going in the right direction. We have to continue like this and continue the development,” the Ferrari team principal stated. It has been a tough start to the 2023 F1 season so far for the Scuderia.

Fred Vasseur is not worried much about Max Verstappen as Ferrari’s main fight lies with Mercedes and Aston Martin who seem to be close rivals. Mercedes sits in P2 in the constructors championship with 178 points while Aston Martin is right behind with 175 points to their name. It will be an interesting battle to see who is able to come on top. Charles Leclerc’s P2 at Austria was also Ferrari’s 800th podium. 

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