Vasseur: Monza results confirm the improvements in terms of tyre management
Having secured a surprise victory on home turf, Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur insists that the results clearly show how the Scuderia has transformed its car compared to its predecessor.
Ferrari looked strong all through the weekend, but Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz only qualified fourth and fifth on the grid, having missed the crucial final tenth of a second to be in contention for pole position.
Although Leclerc had a masterful start and executed an ambitious move on McLaren's Lando Norris on the first lap to move himself up into second place, Oscar Piastri looked in control of the victory. But McLaren made the decisive move to call the Australian in for a second stop while Ferrari elected to pursue an aggressive one-stop strategy with both its drivers.
The strategy allowed Leclerc to move into the lead, and the Monegasque managed to nurse his tyres until the end of the 53-lap race to take an emotional victory at the Italian Grand Prix.
Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur has revealed that the Scuderia had been disappointed after the qualifying session as they had hoped for better starting position.
"What a mega result for the team! This is a real confidence booster for all of us and our tifosi who really made the difference this weekend. It was a very good race in which Charles drove incredibly well and I think we fully deserved this win.
"After qualifying, we were a bit disappointed, because we knew we had the potential to do very well. From the beginning of the season, I think we are probably in better shape on race pace than in qualifying and it was the case also today. Once again the execution was very good and we were able to turn things around.
Reflecting on the strategy, the Frenchman said that while Ferrari struggled with high tyre wear last year, this year's car, the SF24 can look after the tyre much better which enabled the Italian team to opt for more aggressive strategies.
"Last year tyre management was our biggest weakness whereas now, I think it’s one of the advantages we have with this car. It was already the case last week in Zandvoort and now we are quite consistent in terms of race pace to the point that we did think it might be a two stop but then we saw very low degradation in the second stint and we changed our strategy accordingly and Charles had the race under control all the time.
"It was a risk but sometimes you have to take risks and today it worked. We worked well as a team and we knew that Carlos could help if we did a one-stop with the two cars. He was also helping us with feedback on the tyres because it’s important to have two opinions, two different sources of information and we were quite relaxed on this front," concluded Vasseur.
Speaking of the intense atmosphere on Scuderia's home turf, Ferrari Chairman John Elkann has praised the passionate Tifosi who gave race winner Charles Leclerc "the extra push" in the closing stages of the race.
"Winning on home turf in Monza is a unique feeling. This win is for all our fans who always support us and who today gave Charles that extra push over the final few laps.
"Congratulations to the whole team who were united in their efforts to get everything right, making this Ferrari win possible," Elkann added.
