Ferrari Team Principal Reveals Priorities Amid Constructors' Championship Fight

Saajan Jogia | 11 Hours Ago

Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc rounds turn 16 during the Formula 1 Pirelli United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has emphasized that his team is focusing on "pure performance" and not aiming to win the Constructors' Championship. He reckons it is important to maintain this "mood" within the team, allowing it to strategize effectively race after race without the pressure of the championship weighing on the drivers and team members.

The push to prioritize the car's performance comes after Ferrari delivered a 1-2 finish at the recent United States Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc securing victory while his teammate Carlos Sainz finished second. The pair triumphed over McLaren's strong charge and surpassed Max Verstappen, who finished third.

After the Circuit of the Americas race weekend, Ferrari's points total in the Constructors' Championship has increased to 496, placing it in third position. The team is now just 8 points behind Red Bull and 48 points adrift of championship leader McLaren.

With 5 Grands Prix remaining before the 2024 season concludes, Vasseur was asked about the team's approach to the championship chase on the F1 Nation podcast. He said:

“We’re not thinking about the championship and I want to keep the team in this mood because I think it’s important to be focussed on pure performance, session after session, and not to have somewhere in your mind the championship.

“One week or two weeks ago, everybody was speaking about McLaren, before this it was Mercedes and before this it was Red Bull. We have to take it with a bit of distance, we never spoke about something like this because we know it’s still a long way.

“If something can arrive at the end, it will be more by the performance day per day than by the approach of the overall championship. We know perfectly that next week will be a completely different challenge.

“We will start from scratch and you can have a completely different result in Mexico in one week time.”

Vasseur explained that Ferrari was taking one step at a time since there was plenty of scope to improve. He emphasized that the team shares this mindset, which in his opinion is "a good mentality.” He added:

“What I want is to have people taking more risk and [have the] power to take risk.

“I think we are in this mood and approach. For sure, we have to improve, we have done some things to improve and this is important to keep this mindset.

“Even when you get a good result, it’s not the end of the story and to come back on Monday with a long list of things to improve when you are winning, it’s a good mentality.”