Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur explains ‘tough decision’ to change sidepods in Barcelona upgrades – rezal404
Ferrari debuted new-look sidepods in Barcelona on Friday
Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur has admitted it was a “tough decision” to change the sidepods on the team’s 2023 car.
The Italian team debuted the significantly altered bodywork as the Spanish Grand Prix weekend got under way with Friday practice in Barcelona.
The changes come after a hugely disappointing start for Ferrari to a season they began with title aspirations, before seeing Red Bull dominate with six successive victories to start the campaign.
The initial impact of the changes were unclear, with Charles Leclerc actually outpacing teammate Carlos Sainz despite running the older specification in the first session, before both cars were supplied with the update in Practice Two.
Sky F1’s David Croft and Anthony Davidson review Friday’s practice sessions at the Circuit de Catalunya.
“The first feeling is good but it was a very intense session for everybody,” Vasseur said when he faced the media between the two sessions.
“Let’s have a look on everything and we’ll see over the weekend what is the situation.
“It’s not a new car, we are making a step forward, we are opening some doors for the development in the future, it’s not a complete change.
“The opportunity to open a new door for development in the future, and it was quite promising, it meant that we committed on this way. Let’s see what the next weeks will bring to us. I think it was a tough decision, but it was a decision.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says the team are focused on narrowing the gap between themselves and Red Bull.
“From this upgrade we are expecting a step forward, not a huge one but a step forward also to open some doors for the future in terms of development.
“We will have other upgrades coming on the next couple of races. It’s an opportunity also to take another direction but even with this one we’re expecting to go a step forward.”
Sainz: We need to improve race pace
Sainz, who ran the fully updated version of the SF-23 in both of Friday’s sessions at his home race, says the team’s focus must be on race pace.
Ferrari have generally been more competitive in qualifying, with Leclerc the only non-Red Bull driver to have taken a pole position this season, but have more often than not been slower than Aston Martin and Mercedes on Sundays.
Carlos Sainz says Ferrari are focused in improving their race pace
“We’ve tested the new package, obviously it’s impossible to compare, only Charles had a proper back to back,” Sainz said. “But for me it was put on and run and we just tune the car to adapt to the balance that we have.
“We just need to focus on the race pace like always, we need to make sure we keep improving the race pace because it’s where we are going to struggle, if we struggle, so we’re focusing on that.”
As seemed to be the consensus throughout the paddock, Sainz is predicting a “tight” qualifying on Saturday, with Alpine appearing to be capable of joining the battle for places on the front few rows of the grid.
Nico Hulkenberg and Logan Sargeant almost crashed during second practice in Spain, while Sainz was afflicted by heavy porpoising.
“It’s going to be tight, the field today was particularly tight,” Sainz added.
“Obviously, we don’t know fuel loads and engine modes, but there were a few cars from the midfield joining the top teams and mixing it up with, which I expect that it will happen again, as in Monaco.
“So it just shows the field is closing up and it’s going to be a good challenge in qualy.”
Sky Sports F1’s live Spanish GP schedule
SaturdayJune 3rd
9.25am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Spanish GP Practice Three (session starts 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: Spanish GP qualifying build-up
3pm: Spanish GP Qualifying
6.15pm: IndyCar Detroit GP Qualifying
sunday june 4
8.50am: F3 feature race
10.20am: F2 feature race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Spanish GP build-up
2pm: THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX
4pm: Checkered Flag Spanish GP reaction
5.45pm: Indy NXT Detroit GP
8pm: IndyCar Detroit GP
Will Red Bull’s winning run in F1 2023 continue at the Spanish GP? Watch all the action live on Sky Sports F1, with Qualifying at 3pm on Saturday and the race at 2pm on Sunday. Get Sky Sports
