Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has alluded to the potential of a championship battle this season following the team’s podium finish at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
While Max Verstappen secured his fifth victory of the season, he faced strong competition from McLaren’s Lando Norris who finished just seven-tenths of a second behind the Dutchman at the chequered flag. Not far behind was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc trailing the leading duo by only a few seconds.
Following Verstappen’s dominant performances over the past two F1 seasons leading to championship victories Vasseur suggested that his pursuit of another title will be more challenging this time.
It’s encouraging for me for F1 and for the championship Vasseur conveyed to media outlets including RacingNews365.
With three teams finishing within seven seconds after 70 laps, the competition is intense, with differences of less than one-tenth per lap. This level of competition has been consistent since the beginning of the weekend.
We reset next weekend in Monaco facing a different track layout with its unique set of corners he added emphasizing the dynamic nature of the challenges ahead.
Ferrari introduced upgrades during the race weekend in pursuit of enhanced performance, building on a strong start to the year.
While demonstrating impressive pace during the race, it found itself outpaced in qualifying by Verstappen and the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Reflecting on the missed opportunity Vasseur expressed confidence that securing pole position on Saturday would have paved the way for victory on race day.
It’s a mixed feeling overall because while we made progress, McLaren matched our stride,” he remarked. We’re closely matched now but there’s a tinge of frustration because I believe that if we had secured a one-two in qualifying, we would have replicated that in the race today.
If there’s any shortfall it was in yesterday’s qualifying session not in today’s race Vasseur concluded highlighting the critical importance of grid position in determining race outcomes.
