Ferrari looks like Red Bull's biggest challenger: 'Gap half closed'

Frederic Vasseur is positive after the first two Grands Prix of 2024. Ferrari cannot yet make things difficult for Red Bull Racing in the races, but the team boss does state that the gap has narrowed a lot.

After the first two races in 2024, Ferrari is in good shape. The team that finished third among constructors last season seems to have found themselves in a no-man's land between Red Bull Racing and the competition. As a result, Ferrari is second in the constructors' championship and already achieved two podium finishes.

"But if you compare with one year ago, that with plus or minus two tenths, that we were at 1.1 second in the Jeddah-Bahrain [duo of races], we are today at... four, five, six tenths means that we did half of the gap," stated Vasseur after the race in Saudi Arabia.

Why Ferrari is happy after Saudi Arabia

According to Vasseur, not one update can make the difference, but they need to improve in all areas to get close to Red Bull. "But on every single area, we have to continue to push. For sure, the aero, it's always key. We have the upgrades into the pipe, but I'm sure that as everybody, that the most important is not to bring upgrades, it's to bring upgrades that you can operate on the car. And I think it's where last year we did a good job."

"It means that we are at the point with this car, and this regulation, that you have a kind of convergence of performance, and the rate of development is much lower. It means that is why it's important for us to be competitive from the beginning."

In that respect, Ferrari are doing good business. They have already scored 49 points in the championship. After three Grands Prix, the tally stood at only 26 last year. It was only after the Grand Prix and sprint race in Azerbaijan that Ferrari achieved a higher points tally than they already have, and that with an 18-year-old replacement in Jeddah.