The first victory with Ferrari was an emotional moment for Frédéric Vasseur. He recounted what he was most proud of, then tried to drag his team to the ground.
Work began in January, and the February motor show was Frédéric Vasseur’s first public event as Ferrari team principal. When he mentioned victories and winning the championship as his goal that day, he couldn’t believe that he would have to wait so long for his first success to be celebrated in red.
It has been fifteen races since the season, but it has been more than a year since the Scuderia’s last win (2022, Austria). In the meantime, the team had to face the painful reality, had to look for answers to serious difficulties, but in the last two weekends they showed clear signs of improvement, which culminated in the victory of Carlos Sainz in Singapore. The result proved that the Reds are really starting to understand what and how they went wrong with their car this year, and what and how they can do better.
The final laps in Singapore brought a very exciting finish, as Carlos Sainz, teamed up with Lando Norris, tried to keep the Mercedes faster by at least a second and a half behind him.
“It was weird for me on the pit wall because I wasn’t really nervous in the last laps.” Vasseur admitted with a laugh after the race. “Honestly, I was more nervous watching the final laps than I was during the race. Maybe it was because I felt like Carlos was really in control.”
Frédéric Vasseur and Carlos Sainz (Photo: XPB)The French specialist managed to stand on the podium for the first time as the head of a winning Formula 1 team, and it was also his first race win with Ferrari. He had to wait longer than he initially thought, but he felt like it was better now.
“Standing on the podium was an emotional moment because it was my first time. But at this point I was thinking more about what we had done since Jeddah. Jeddah was a difficult weekend for us and we made the most of it very well. The teamwork was good in Maranello and on “The track, and we are building our confidence and speed step by step. I am very proud of the team for the work they have done.”
“It’s a great feeling after how difficult the first half of the season was, but the response from the team was fantastic. What pleased me most about this win was that it came right after Monza, which was also a great race for the team in first place and the final result. The current situation was a bit unexpected “But it gives everyone more satisfaction. We did a great job on the track and in the factory. Carlos distributed his race exceptionally well, and I am grateful to him and to the team as well.” Vasseur said.
Frédéric Vasseur (Photo: XPB)He pointed out that their performance in Singapore confirms that they are improving, but at the same time he warned that the path is unusual and has its own laws. “If you look at the first half of the season, we performed better on the faster circuits like Canada, Austria, Belgium and Monza and struggled more on the slower circuits. Singapore is not one of the fastest circuits, but tire handling and temperature are more important, and from that standpoint we have improved.” “Excellent job. The team was helped by the fact that we started better in the first free practice on Friday, and thanks to that we were able to build throughout the weekend.” – They searched for the reasons for their success.
But he warned against continuing. “We have taken several steps forward. First in Zandvoort, it was difficult for us, but useful to get to know the car. But let’s not jump to conclusions, because tire management is very important in Singapore. We are starting from scratch at Suzuka. We have not only become world champions today “Because we have taken a step forward. We have to enjoy it because we are working to win. We are enjoying the fruits of the work done, but next week we will start with a clean slate.” He confirmed.
