Ferrari F1 News: Fred Vasseur Doesn't Rule Out Repeat Issue In Upcoming Chinese GP

Saajan Jogia | Apr 10, 2024

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur / Ferrari Press Image

Despite Ferrari's strong start to the 2024 season, team principal Fred Vasseur has issued a word of caution regarding the potential recurrence of the tire wear issue that plagued the team last year. He emphasized that the SF-24 F1 car may still face challenges in managing excessive tire wear, especially in areas where it hasn't proved its prowess yet, such as China, where the temperature is said to be lower.

Key Takeaways:

• Ferrari's strong start in the 2024 Formula 1 season prompts caution from team principal Fred Vasseur about potential tire wear issues, especially in untested conditions like China's colder temperatures.
• Despite improved tire management in this season's races, Vasseur emphasizes the SF-24 F1 car's unproven performance in cold conditions.
• Vasseur anticipates the return of the Chinese Grand Prix to the Shanghai International Circuit after five years, seeing it as an opportunity to evaluate the car's performance under different weather conditions.

The 2024 car excelled in tire management in all four rounds of the current season, helping the team secure podiums in all Grands Prix and a noteworthy victory secured by Carlos Sainz in Melbourne. While one may perceive that Ferrari is nearing the ground effect sweet spot that Red Bull nailed in 2022, Vasseur highlights that the car is yet to prove its might in cold conditions.

Acknowledging the improvement from last year, the team boss looks forward to the Chinese Grand Prix, which brings an unknown set of challenges since the sport heads to the Shanghai International Circuit after five years. Speaking to the media after the Japanese GP in Suzuka, he said:

“I think from the beginning of the season we are much better on the tyre management.

“And degradation – we were I think able to do the fastest lap in Jeddah and Melbourne on the last lap. It was almost the case today for one-tenth, I think.

“And I think we did a very good step forward on this one, we worked a lot on the weaknesses, and we improved massively on the tyre management, drivers, strategy, and the team.

“And yeah, for sure that now we have some other weaknesses, and we have to improve somewhere else for sure if we want to do a better job.

“But I think this one is very well under control now. But what is true one day, it's not true the other day, on the tyre management. And we don't have to consider that this is done.

“Next week in China will have another tarmac, different weather conditions, and it will be a new challenge"

Vasseur added that colder temperatures in China will provide the team an opportunity to not only test the tire wear but also other parameters of the car. He said:

"In China, we will have the opportunity to test in colder conditions. But I don't know, because also we did only FP3 [in Japan] in colder conditions.

“I'm not sure that we are in a better shape, you never know about the engine settings, level of fuel. The deg was under control for us on Saturday, but also for them. And it was almost the same today.”