After finishing 2nd in the standings last year, Ferrari aimed to come back stronger in 2023. Not only did they fail to do so, but they also fell further down the pecking order. Reliability issues have once again plagued the Prancing Horse. On top of that, they simply lack the pace to compete for the top step on the podium. Amidst all this, Red Bull’s taskmaster, Helmut Marko, has taken a swipe at the Maranello-based team’s newly appointed boss, Frederic Vasseur.

After the conclusion of the first three races, Ferrari are still searching for their first podium finish. The newest challenge that has posed itself out of nowhere is Aston Martin. Their new senior driver, Fernando Alonso has bagged 3 third-place finishes while Mercedes is showing signs of resurgence.

Helmut Marko takes an unnecessary dig at Frederic Vasseur

F1 is currently going through a 4-week hiatus before action restarts in Azerbaijan. Teams are using this time to introduce the first set of changes to their cars. Marko recently weighed in on the threat from the rivals and while doing it, took a sly dig at the Ferrari team principal.

Formu1a.uno quoted him as saying, “Mercedes obviously wants to improve. They are coming to Baku with new updates.” [Translated using Google]

“And Ferrari has been underperforming so far. However, I don’t understand how team principal Vasseur sees everything in a positive light,” he added.

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Fred certainly has earned himself the image of a happy-go-lucky fella in the paddocks. Even when his team isn’t performing well, he never lets go of his great sense of humor in the interviews. That for some reason has irked Marko.

Vasseur urges his team to focus on their own goals

While the Red Bull seniors shift their attention to what rivals are doing, Vasseur is making sure that his team does not. He recently gave Ferrari workers the mantra they need to follow to climb back in the competition. While doing that, he also shared his views on the three races gone by and the one all fans are eagerly waiting for.

Motorsport.com quoted him as saying, “It is wrong to focus on Red Bull or on Mercedes and Aston Martin.” [Translated using Google]

“We have to get the best out of ourselves and focus on ourselves. Between the second and third races I think we took a good step. In Melbourne we didn’t get the best out of the updates as a team. If we had more of this kind of updates are coming, then we have to focus on that. Baku is going to be crucial in that regard.”

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Do you think Ferrari can make enough progress with the latest updates to be able to challenge Red Bull for the top spot once again?