Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have been warned Ferrari are aiming for victory under new team boss Frederic Vasseur. The Frenchman stressed the team everything in place to “target wins” after struggling at times last season.
Former Alfa Romeo boss Vasseur said wanting to finish P2 would be a “lack of ambition” in fighting talk ahead of the season opener. He explained: “When you are in a top team, you can’t have another target than to win.
“You can’t start the season saying you are happy with P2 – it would be a lack of ambition. We have everything to do a good job and the target has to be to win.”
The remarks differ dramatically from former team boss Mattia Binotto who continually stressed the team had to improve before they could challenge at the front. Vasseur’s comments clearly show he is aiming to bring success back to the Prancing Horse after years in the wilderness.
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Sources have also hinted the new model could be a second per lap faster than the 2022 machine. Vasseur added: “The performance of the engine was not an issue. The issue was reliability and the first target is to fix it.
“So far, it looks OK, but the reality of the track is a different thing. A couple of issues that the teams suffer – and it’s not just true for Ferrari – in terms of reliability are also coming from track operation, [aerodynamic] bouncing, and vibrating. Everyone will have a much better idea [at the pre-season test] in Bahrain in a few weeks’ time.”
