Ferrari Reveals Upgrade Package Ahead Of Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

The Maranello squad still has plenty of fight in them after just one disappointing race.

The dust has barely settled on the Bahrain Grand Prix, and yet Ferrari's team boss Fred Vasseur is already looking to the future. With the Italian outfit struggling to get the most out of their SF-23 in the season opener thanks to reliability issues, Vasseur is adamant that there's a lot more up his Italian leather sleeve. 

After a challenging 2022 campaign for the Maranello squad, Ferrari were hoping to come back stronger this year under new management and challenge Red Bull for the title. But that didn't seem to be the case in Bahrain, where the Red Bulls ran the show with Max Verstappen leading the race by over 30 seconds. However, Vasseur isn't one to give up easily, and he is confident that upgrades coming to Saudi Arabia will make all the difference.

"We struggled a bit with the balance over the weekend," said Vasseur. "It means that we have mega room for improvements on this path with our package. With what we had in Bahrain, I think we had a lot of room for improvement in terms of driveability."

The Scuderia's troubles in Bahrain were compounded by Charles Leclerc's DNF due to a power unit issue, resulting in a 10-place grid penalty for the upcoming race in Jeddah. But Vasseur remains upbeat and focused on the task at hand.

"For sure we can't be satisfied with the situation, and I want to do a step forward," he said. "Already it will suit a little bit more to what we have today. And then we'll also bring some updates to Jeddah and I hope that we'll do a step forward."

“With what we had in Bahrain, I think we had a lot of room for improvement in terms of driveability.

“The most important is to stay focused on the current situation to try to get the best from what we have today. And even if we are bringing updates and we will improve the situation and the competitiveness of the package.

“Keep in mind that Bahrain is not always very representative. And second, we are still at the early stage of the car.

“It means that we did three days of testing and the race in Bahrain, only on one track, and we need to have a better understanding of the car itself to try to get the best from the package we have.

One area of concern for Ferrari was their tire management, which has been an ongoing issue for the team. However, Vasseur believes that it's not a specific issue, but rather a result of the demanding Bahrain circuit.

"It's true also that if you have a lack of pace, you have to push more to stay into the maximum of your pace and you are damaging more everything," he explained.

"It means that I would be much more focused on the pure performance and pure potential than something else."

With the characteristics of the Jeddah circuit vastly different from Bahrain, Ferrari will be hoping to make a statement and show that they are still contenders for the championship. As Vasseur says, "we've got more in store for Saudi Arabia."