Vasseur: 'Nobody has improved their lap times as much as we have'

Alfa Romeo Racing may have only scored one point in the championship so far this year, but team principal Fred Vasseur is confident that his team has made great strides compared to last year. In an interview with Auto, Motor und Sport Vasseur looks back at the first five races and the progress the team has made in the meantime.

According to Vasseur it hasn't been all plain sailing this year, but he is satisfied with the development of the car. "I look back with mixed feelings. In terms of cars we have made a big step forward. Nobody has improved his lap times as much as last year. In terms of speed we are on a par with Aston Martin and Alpine," said the Frenchman. Yet he also knows that this is not necessarily reflected in the constructors' championship yet.

"We are always on the verge of winning World Championship points in races, but unfortunately we have only been rewarded once. The point in Monaco was thickly deserved. What does that mean for us: We have to do a perfect job from Friday morning until Sunday evening in all areas. We can't afford the slightest mistake if we want to score points."

WHERE DOES VASSEUR SEE THE IMPROVEMENTS?

He finds that hard to pinpoint. "That can't be reduced to a single area. On the engine side, we've made a big step forward. You can see that at Ferrari as well. We have developed our aerodynamics package very well and interpreted the new rules correctly. We understand the tyres better. Antonio Giovinazzi has also clearly improved on the last two years," concluded the team boss. So the results behind the scenes are there. A great start of the season according to Vasseur. Now we need the points.