Fred Vasseur: "Bouncing under control, updates will bring us back into fight"

07/26/2024 02:39 PM

For several races now, Ferrari has been the fourth strongest team on the field, consistently struggling after a good start to the season and having to deal with difficulties in understanding the SF-24, which has become enigmatic since the arrival of the latest development package in Spain.

This aerodynamic package not only failed to deliver the expected performance boost but also eroded the drivers’ confidence due to its negative impact on the car’s stability, particularly because of bouncing in fast corners.

This situation has prompted the engineers, for a couple of races, to revise the development plans decided at the beginning of the year. They decided to use the different Specs of the SF-24 as “tools” to maximize performance during this challenging period from which the team wants to emerge as soon as possible. This intent was clearly evident in Hungary, where the cars featured an evolved floor to eliminate bouncing. This floor was also used at the start of the Belgian GP weekend and will help limit the car’s problems until a targeted package arrives between the Dutch and Italian GPs to completely resolve the issues and allow the car to resume the progress that was abruptly halted after Charles Leclerc’s victory in Monaco.

Team principal Frederic Vasseur discussed this situation with Sky Sport F1 moments before the start of the second free practice session of the Belgian GP, emphasizing that the progress made in managing the bouncing seen in Hungary seems to have been confirmed in the Ardennes as well.

“This morning went well, but we know that bouncing can increase over the weekend when pushing harder. But I believe from now on we will have a more representative picture of the situation.” – the French manager pointed out on Friday in Belgium.

As mentioned, the team aims to emerge from this complex situation only after the arrival of the new aerodynamic package following the summer break. According to Fred Vasseur, these updates could bring Ferrari back into the top fight as at the beginning of the year, partly due to the extremely tight standings.

“Yes, the developments can help us get back in the fight. We are very close. One thing is the standings and another is lap time, especially at Spa, which is a very long track. We’re talking about tenths, and each step in development leads to huge steps in the standings.” – the Ferrari team principal concluded.

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