Frederic Vasseur comments on Ferrari’s Melbourne upgrades

Ferrari have struggled to get off the mark in 2023, as mechanical issues have allowed rivals Red Bull to get a runaway lead in the title race.

Having retired from the first race of the season, Charles Leclerc had to take a 10 place grid penalty in Saudi Arabia, crippling his chances of competing from the offset.

Even without the problems that forced his teammate out of the race in Bahrain, Carlos Sainz found it tough to fight at the front with his Ferrari, falling far behind Red Bull and slipping behind Aston Martin. 

In Saudi Arabia, with two working cars on the grid, Ferrari still found themselves languishing in sixth and seventh, over 35 seconds behind race winner Sergio Perez.

Following this poor start to the season, Sainz has stated that the team has identified “exactly” what the problem is with its car, allowing them to focus on fixing its flaws.

READ: Charles Leclerc makes worrying admission about Ferrari’s struggles

“We know what the car’s weakness is – we overheat the tyres. But we do that on our own so you can imagine that when we are behind another car it’s even worse,” Sainz told Diario AS newspaper.

“We have to bring development now but we already know the plan that we have and where we have to improve it. But it’s impossible to create pieces from one day to the next”

“I trust Ferrari, I trust that we are going to improve the car and we have the ability to do it. We know exactly what problem the car has,” he added.

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur accepted that the team’s performance won’t radically improve in Melbourne, as the developments that will be introduced at the race were in production before Bahrain and Jeddah. 

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“All the teams have improvements every weekend,” Vasseur said. 

“But it was already planned, it’s not because of the last result. You always have to develop the car and so will Red Bull.”

READ: Ferrari drivers reveal FIA’s biggest concern after Saudi Arabian GP

Ferrari has also been reportedly struggling at its home base, as it is operating without a technical director. 

However, Vasseur has played down those concerns. 

“Enrico Cardile is head of chassis and Enrico Gualtieri is head of the engine. It’s the same division as in Mercedes or Renault.”

Vasseur hinted at a potential shakeup but wouldn’t be drawn on questions from reporters, saying “I keep that to myself.”