Fred Vasseur has insisted there is ‘no panic mode’ inside Ferrari following its indifferent start to the latest F1 season.
For the first time in four grands prix, Vasseur was finally able to enjoy a podium finish as Charles Leclerc brought his car home in third place behind the 25th Red Bull one-two in the team’s history spearheaded by Sergio Perez.
It was at least a step in the right direction for Ferrari, particularly as its SF-23 was one of the few cars not to sport any major upgrade for the race at the Baku Street Circuit.
Vasseur has confirmed the first of the Scuderia’s updates this season will be on its cars for this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix.
It will likely be the first indicator as to how far Ferrari is truly behind Red Bull on race pace given its one-lap form is undoubtedly strong after Leclerc took pole position for the sprint and grand prix in Baku.
Vasseur readily concedes all has not gone to plan since he took over as team boss in early January following the resignation of Mattia Binotto at the end of last season.
“For sure, we were expecting to be in better shape at the beginning,” said Vasseur.
“And I don’t want to b******t you, but what I’m very pleased about is the reaction of the team.
“We are never in a panic mode, that after the first three events – and Jeddah was tough for us – but the reaction between Jeddah and Melbourne was a very good one.
“The approach, even on the development, there was never panic or to change everything on the car. It was not the plan.
“We were always focused on bringing small updates to understand what we are doing first, to understand where we can improve the potential, to first reach the potential of the car.
“And I’m more than pleased with this kind of reaction, although for sure, I would love to be in better shape.
“It’s nothing to do with the results but the reaction of the team has been positive, calm, and it is paying off today.”
Ferrari waiting for update reaction
For Vasseur and Ferrari, how the car performs in Miami will be a key indicator of the direction the team will need to take with regard to future development.
Although Red Bull has so far romped away from its rivals, Vasseur is clearly prepared to be patient and there is no requirement, as yet, to make fundamental changes, be it aero or mechanical.
“It’s too early to take this kind of decision,” asserted Vasseur.
“We will start to bring updates on the car from Miami and for the next couple of events and the car will react to the update.
“The update is one thing, but the fact you are able to extract all the potential of the update is another one.
“To understand if it’s coming from mechanical or aero is another story. So far, what is of use, is that we are struggling with consistency.
“That was true over the weekend (in Baku) – all over the corners, all over a lap, and all through the race, the car was much more consistent and we are going in the right direction.”
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