Last year, Alfa was hampered by the drop in performance of the Ferrari engine, as was his colleague Haas.
The Maranello engine has been greatly improved this year and Alfa has also taken a step on the chassis side. Overall, compared to the front runners, the team achieved the largest lap time improvement compared to last year, although it has only scored two points so far.
In an exclusive interview with Autosport, Vasseur says it was “tough” to run into the back of the field last year, but it kept his staff motivated this season.
“As a team, we need to focus on what we can manage and what is in our hands,” said Vasseur.
“And we have to keep focusing on the development of the chassis, on the drivers, trying to get the best out of the car every single weekend.
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“Of course it’s a lot more difficult when you’re 18th or 19th. At some point you could lose motivation or pay less attention to the small details than if you were fighting for Q3. It’s always a lot easier to get the best out of everyone when you’re fighting forward than backward.
“But I think it was good practice, honestly, even if it was tough! Everyone remained very motivated and we took a step forward in the last part of the season last year.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal, Alfa Romeo Racing, at the team principals’ press conference
Photo by: FIA Pool
“On the chassis side, I think we’re on the way to the final stages of 2020 because we’ve made a good step forward in the last five or six races.
“And I think we have made a good aero package because of the new regulations and, together with the progress on the engine, are in much better shape than in 2020.”
Alfa is one of the teams that had to change its rear wing to pass the FIA’s more stringent deflection test, which comes into effect in France this weekend.
The team had to pull resources from its 2022 project to pass the test, much to Vasseur’s frustration.
“The philosophy of Formula 1 and the mentality of Formula 1 is to be at the limit in every single area,” he said. “And if you have a rule and allow a deflection of X for a certain load, it is the job of every single team to save weight, to gain weight in every single area.
“If they come and say, ‘It’s not the same load, it’s 50% more’ because that’s the case here, you’re out. That means that we have difficulties as a small team.
“We had to find solutions, we had to stop other developments for next year just because we had to produce new products. I don’t want to go into the details, but it’s a decent part of the package.
Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo Racing C41
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
“I think it’s the same question, the same topic for the big teams. You struggle with the limit of the upper cost limit and we with the budget. “
Like Red Bull boss Christian Horner, Vasseur believes that the focus should now be shifted to the front wing movement.
“We collectively have exactly the same approach in the front wing. If you compare the deformation of the front wing, that will be the next topic on the table, ”he said.
“Because it’s exactly the same story. And with the front wing, the influence on the performance is much greater because you also change the aerobalance.
“I watched a couple of videos and the front wing movement on some cars is amazing. I’m not complaining because there is a test and they pass the test. If not, they’re out.
“But do we also have to change the test on the front wing? Or could you say that if someone cannot reach the minimum weight, is they changing the weight?
“You can’t complain about the teams because everyone plays their own game. And if someone feels that another team has an advantage, they will fight them. “
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