Vasseur confirms that Ferrari's upgrades worked as expected

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has confirmed that the upgrades that the Maranello-based outfit introduced at Barcelona have worked as expected, but the team needs to carry on with its development path.

Following a comprehensive upgrade package introduced in Imola, Ferrari turned up with another host of heavily-modified parts at last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

The Barcelona package included an increased sidepod and engine cover undercut, changes to the floor fences, floor body and floor edge, a reworked diffuser and tweaks to the halo. The Scuderia also introduced a change to its rear wing, the third specification of 2024 which offers higher levels of downforce.

Despite the upgrades, Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were trailing the Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes rivals. Team principal Fred Vasseur has now confirmed that the upgrade package worked as the team had hoped, but so tight is the field that tiny margins can make the difference.

"The upgrades introduced in Spain worked as expected, but clearly our competitors have not been twiddling their thumbs, and at the moment there are four teams all within less than three tenths of one another.

"Now we have Austria, a track that takes just a little over a minute to lap, so that those aforementioned gaps could become even smaller. We will be focusing completely on ourselves, because in Spielberg each tiny detail can make a difference.

This weekend sees the return of the Sprint format for the third time this season. The condensed nature of the schedule means that things get serious right from Friday.

The one and only free practice session is followed by Sprint qualifying on Friday evening. On Saturday, drivers tackle the 23 lap Sprint Race at noon, before switching their attention to qualifying for the Grand Prix. The 71 lap race gets underway on Sunday at 15.00.

"This weekend also sees the return of the Sprint format, so the work carried out back in Maranello becomes even more significant, as there is only one hour of free practice prior to qualifying. Everyone in the team, including the drivers, must be on top of their game to ensure we don’t miss any opportunities that come our way.

"That applies to qualifying, especially when up against such strong opponents and also in terms of how we execute the race. I want to see us step up a gear in Austria," concluded Vasseur.