Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur believes the squad still has substantial gains to come from its current package, following a subdued start to the 2023 season.
Ferrari holds only fourth in the Constructors’ Championship and has only scored one podium position, achieved courtesy of Charles Leclerc in Azerbaijan.
Both Ferrari drivers have complained about the SF-23’s inconsistency in differing conditions and on varying tyre compounds at several grands prix this year.
Ferrari is due to bring updates to the SF-23 across the coming races but Vasseur is also sure the squad can better utilize its existing package.
“I think it’s not just about potential and upgrades but we also have to operate the package in a better window,” he said.
“The first target for us is not just to put downforce on the car, it’s to have the car a bit more consistent, and on top of the update we have a big room for improvement with the current car in terms of performance.
“It’s true that so far – and I don’t want to speak about Monaco because I think that Monaco is not representative of the situation – but it’s true that so far we were struggling on the long stints for consistency and from lap-to-lap or corner-to-corner and it was difficult for the drivers to find the limit.
“It’s in this area that we are working today to develop the car. It could come from the suspension or from the aero for different reasons, but it’s a topic today and we are on it.”
Vasseur also remains adamant that Ferrari can still put itself in a position to take victories in 2023.
“I would say that we are – perhaps not everywhere because we were struggling in qualifying in Jeddah – always in position to fight for the first row or the pole position,” he said.
“It means that as soon as we’re able to unlock this issue that we have today, that starting from the first row then we’ll be able to fight for the wins.
“But it is like it is and today we know that where we have to improve and everybody is fully focused on this. We’ll bring updates and solutions to try to improve on this area but for sure we can expect to win.”
