Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur points out difference in team's performance compared to last season

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur highlighted a significant sacrifice made to address a major issue from 2023. Despite some setbacks this season, Vasseur emphasized that the changes have led to more points and overall improvement. 

Notably, in 2024, Ferrari secured two wins: Carlos Sainz's victory in Australia and Charles Leclerc's home race triumph. Last year, Ferrari’s sole win came much later, in round 15 at Singapore. The main struggle in 2023 was poor tyre management, which hindered race performance despite strong qualifying. 

To address this, drivability became a key focus in the off-season. However, speaking about it team principal Vasseursaid, “I think we did a step forward in the tyre management. It was not the first topic today why - it wasn't more management, but the pace of the grand prix. Last year, we had a clear picture of the situation - that we were performing in qualifying. We were struggling a bit more on the long stint. We were struggling on some corners and less than some others."

How Ferrari struggled in 2023?

Last season, Charles Leclerc struggled to capitalize on his pole positions, breaking his winless streak at the Monaco Grand Prix after 12 races this year. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz showcased his pace by clinching two pole positions and securing a victory from the pole at the Singapore Grand Prix. 

Despite Leclerc and Sainz's efforts, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez dominated, winning 21 out of 22 races for Red Bull. This season, Verstappen started with seven consecutive poles, only disrupted by Leclerc in Monaco. 
Ferrari has significantly improved, with 212 points after eight rounds compared to 111 points last year. They've climbed to second place in the constructors' standings, closing the gap to Red Bull to just 24 points. 

Speaking about it Vasseur says, "We worked on our weaknesses, we did a good step forward - probably that we damaged a little bit the pace in qualifying compared to last year. But I think it's also for the benefit of the race, and at the end of the day, we scored many more points this season than last year. I think that we are going in the right direction."