Commenting on the results of the Italian Grand Prix on Sky Sports, Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur confirmed that he is allowing his drivers to participate, but stressed that he does not consider third place a great success.
Q: First of all, accept the gratitude of all fans for allowing your riders to compete with each other. But you must have been nervous too, like all of us, right?
Frederick Wasser: Of course I had a strange feeling at the time, but I’m a staunch supporter of the “let them race” principle, and you know it. But of course the emotions were bright! I warned Carlos and Charles not to take too many risks, although it is clear that this is all relative.
But I really enjoyed the last few laps, I hope the fans do too.
Question: But you as a team manager will probably still have a conversation with the riders, because their battle was of an extremely sharp nature…
Frederick Wasser: The assumption is correct, the discussion of the race results is imminent, but we will not have that until Monday, when we return to base in Maranello. And on Sunday I just told them not to take any chances, but I didn’t specify who should finish in what position. I will analyze in detail how they fought, and on Monday I will review the record of the race.
Q: There was only Carlos on the podium in Monza, but it could have ended if none of your riders went there…
Frederick Wasser: Why talk so negatively? If we give instructions to riders to keep their position, you criticize us for it!
Q: No, no, it’s about something else! Do you consider this result a success? Are you happy?
Frederick Wasser: No, you can’t call it a success, because we aim for a double win, but it was clear that the Red Bull cars were capable of a faster pace than ours. However, Carlos and Charles achieved the maximum possible result, and this is already a cause for joy.
Q: Ferrari beat Aston Martin in the Constructors’ Championship, but there are still eight races before the end of the season, and they will all take place outside Europe. What tasks do you set for the team?
Frederick Wasser: I’m not thinking about where we’ll finish the championship. I think the most important thing now is to fully concentrate on solving the current problems and in that respect we have made a good step forward compared to the stage in Zandvoort. Hopefully our pace in Singapore in two weeks will be better than what we have been able to do on tracks that require a lot of downforce.
And that will show what we can achieve in the last races of the season.
Q: Christian Horner believes all teams preparing for 2024 will try to copy their RB19 – will you do this too?
Frederick Wasser: No, I think there’s no point in such an approach because you can’t take a separate part of the Red Bull car and link it to a Ferrari or Mercedes. It will not work. We’ve done our research in several directions and I hope our car will be much better next year.
Q: Carlos Sainz was capable of a high pace all weekend at Monza. Is there any reason to believe that next season Ferrari will be able to catch up with the leaders and compete with them more regularly?
Frederick Wasser: It’s hard to say because I don’t know what Red Bull Racing is doing in preparation for 2024. The most important thing now is that we concentrate on our own tasks and try to improve the car, because we know the weaknesses. They should be eliminated without thinking about the next season.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
