Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur has revealed both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have been left “quite pleased” with their input into the side’s 2024 Formula 1 car.
Amid a troubled start to the season, Ferrari abandoned the in-wash bathtub sidepod solution that had become its hallmark since the beginning of this regulation cycle and converted to Red Bull’s downwash concept.
Although the Italian marque’s improvement facilitated its victory in Singapore – the only non-Red Bull win of 2023 – Ferrari ended the year third in the Constructors’ Championship.
Vasseur confirmed that Ferrari is changing “95 per cent of the components” from the SF-23 as it endeavours to provide a more serious challenge to Red Bull for the title.
The Frenchman has now also opened up on the role Leclerc and Sainz had in setting the development direction for the new car ahead of their fourth season partnered together.
“They had a lot of involvement into the development of the car from the beginning,” Vasseur detailed. “They are quite pleased with the situation.
“It’s important to have them on board from the beginning. Carlos and Charles were both quite exhausted after the season. They said ‘Okay, we’ll have a break for the next two, three weeks, and they will be back on the 9th or 10th of January’.
“And I think it’s good also for them to manage their time. It will be even worse or more difficult next year.”
Leclerc sustained a strong end to the season with three pole positions and three podiums in the last six rounds, but he was unable to add to his tally of five career F1 victories.
However, the Monegasque is optimistic about the progress Ferrari made over the course of the season and is targeting a renewed tilt at the main prize in 2024.
“To be honest it’s been a disappointing season,” Leclerc reflected. “After last year, we expected to come into this season and try and fight for the championship.
“After the first race, we straight away understood how difficult it would be compared to the Red Bull which had a huge step forward, especially in race pace.
“We didn’t do the same step, so from that moment onwards it was a bit of a disappointment.
“On the other hand, this season, if you forget about last season, I think we have progressed quite a lot this season which is positive and makes me confident for the future.
“But there’s a big gap to fill to get back [with] the Red Bulls so we will work out over the winter break and hopefully come back next year with a car that is capable of outperforming them.”
