Ferrari boss feels "we don't need to look at photos of Red Bull RB19 floor"

It is undoubtedly a complex and well below expectations first part of the 2023 Formula One season that Scuderia Ferrari is experiencing. Despite the excellent starting point provided by last year’s car, the team from Maranello has put on track a 2023 car that has proven to be uncompetitive and quite problematic for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

The SF-23, in the early stages of the championship, has only collected a few points, proving to be slow on almost all circuits where races have been held (with the exception of the Baku City Circuit), and displaying significant issues with aerodynamic load and tire management. This situation, based on the data, has pushed the red team to the role of the fourth force on the field, not only behind Red Bull but also behind teams like Aston Martin and Mercedes.

This situation has inevitably caused disappointment within the team, but it has not dampened their determination to work on the development of the car and climb back up as soon as possible, at least to become the main challenger to Red Bull again. The development work, as known, will lead to the introduction of a significant package of updates during the upcoming race weekend at the Spanish GP (some of them were originally planned for Imola, but the cancellation of the event caused delays).

The development issue was also discussed by Scuderia’s team principal, Frederic Vasseur. During the post-Monaco Grand Prix press conference in the Ferrari motorhome, the Frenchman answered some questions regarding this matter.

Firstly, he denied the arrival of updates to the front suspension in Barcelona (although some adjustments have been made to the Haas, which shares many components with the SF-23).

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“No, we won’t have any developments on the front suspension.” – the French manager pointed out.

Regarding the developments, the former Alfa Romeo team principal emphasized the importance of evaluating the proper functioning of the new parts before talking about performance improvements in the upcoming weekend.

“For now, we need to focus on qualifying and see that everything works as expected. I hope the developments can help us in terms of pure performance.” – the Ferrari team principal continued.

Finally, Frederic Vasseur jokingly commented on the photos (which appeared after Sergio Perez’s crash in qualifying) of the Red Bull RB19 floor, in a lighthearted manner when quizzed by the journalists. He admitted that the photos had made their way to Maranello but stated that there is no intention to copy them.

“Yes, we have the photos (laughs). No, honestly, we don’t need to look at Red Bull’s photos!” – Fred Vasseur concluded.