Frédéric Vasseur reflected on a ‘good race’ for Scuderia Ferrari in Canada on Sunday, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. climbing from tenth and eleventh on the grid to take fourth and fifth place.
Crucial strategy calls played an important part in the result, with neither driver opting to pit when the safety car was deployed for George Russell enabling them to move up into the top five, and with tyre degradation for those behind them being quite aggressive, they were able to capitalise and maintain their positions until the chequered flag.
Vasseur, the Team Principal of Ferrari, says the pace the team were able to show on Friday reappeared on Sunday, and both drivers were able to push with confidence and show good pace, pace that at times matched the leading three drivers.
“It was a good race for us, confirming that we are working in the right direction,” said Vasseur. “After a poor qualifying yesterday, we rediscovered the race pace we had seen on Friday, helped in this by a good strategy that took us out of traffic, so that Charles and Carlos had the confidence to push throughout the race.
“It was notable that in the second half our drivers were matching the lap times of the top three.”
Ferrari have only scored one top three finish so far in the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season courtesy of third place for Leclerc in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but Vasseur says the team need to put together a full weekend if they want to contend for podiums.
“We are progressing race by race,” Vasseur added. “We will continue to focus on working solidly on the course we have set ourselves, while going into every small detail to ensure we can have a perfect weekend from Friday through to Sunday.”
