Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur urges caution because despite the victory in Australia and second place in the constructors’ championship, he believes it is not yet certain that Ferrari’s ‘tyre problems’ have been solved.
Last year, tyre wear on the Ferrari F1 car was a major problem, something that often made Ferrari a lot more competitive during qualifying than during the races. At the end of last season there was already improvement at Ferrari and this season the SF-24 seems to have taken an additional step forward.
However, team boss Frederic Vasseur wants to wait a few more races under colder conditions to see whether the Ferrari SF-24 can perform well under those conditions. The first races of the season were held under warm conditions and the new Ferrari F1 car performed more than adequately.
“I think we have much better tyre management from the start of the season,” said Vasseur in Suzuka. “And the tyre degradation, we managed to do the fastest lap in Jeddah and in Melbourne on the last lap. It was almost a matter of a tenth or so, I think.”
“I think we have made a very good step forward in that area, we have worked hard on our weak point and we have improved significantly in terms of tyre management, the drivers, the strategy and the team.”
“And yes, we certainly have other weaknesses now and we will have to improve in other areas to ensure that we perform better.”