Ferrari Honcho Frederic Vasseur Takes a Sly Dig at Red Bull While Updating the Scuderia’s Course Correction

Despite Red Bull turning up with a rocket ship last year, Ferrari remained their only contender. That challenge from Maranello may have lasted for just a few races when the season began, but a runner-up position is a runner-up position at the end of the day. The Prancing Horse entered the current season of upping the ante from last year. However, things have turned out to be far from what they must have anticipated. Despite his team going through dire straits in terms of performance, new team boss Frederic Vasseur hasn’t let go of an attempt at taking a dig at his rivals. What’s funny is that he did it while providing an update on SF23’s development program.

A lot changed when the world moved on from 2022 to 2023. But Ferrari’s reliability woes didn’t. In fact, they only seem to have amplified further as Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc continue to struggle. The dry run has seen neither of the Ferrari drivers finish on the podium until now.

Red Bull does not have everything under control: Frederic Vasseur

Not only have Red Bull won every race until now in the current season, they seem to have further built on the gap to rivals. While that happened, Ferrari were nowhere to be seen. The competition has majorly come from unexpected quarters like Aston Martin and recently from Mercedes. However, Vasseur does not believe the Austrian team has everything sorted out.

Band Sports recently quoted Fred as saying, “For sure, we’ve adjusted the direction of development a little bit in recent weeks, but it’s true for everyone on the grid. You have to do a better job every race and understand more and extract more from the car’s potential.” [Translated using Google]

“Honestly, I don’t even think Red Bull can say they have everything under control, it’s the DNA of our business.”

Read More: Is Max Verstappen Belgian or Dutch?

The worst affected by Ferrari’s reliability issues is Leclerc. The Monegasque only has 6 points to show for his three outings so far. Yet, it is Carlos who is currently in the middle of a storm of rumors speculating over his potential move to Audi in 2026.

Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari have a lot of work to do

Owing to the cancellation of the Chinese GP, F1 is going through a 4-week long hiatus. The break, however, has come as a blessing in disguise for teams like Ferrari who are struggling to find their feet. And if Leclerc is to be believed, the team has a lot on its plate to work on.

Recently in an interview with Sky Sports, when asked how much work is left to be done, the Monegasque answered, “A lot, really a lot.”

Comparing the SF23 with rivals, he explained, “Straight line they are quicker, and corners they are quicker, so a bit of everything.”

Watch This Story: What has become an Incessant Problem for Charles Leclerc & Carlos Sainz in Ferrari’s F1 Challenger?

Do you think the Prancing Horse will make enough progress to challenge for podium finishes once again? Or have the rivals built a good enough gap to be worried about?