The Ferrari optimism over its “worst-ever” start to an F1 season

At this point last year, Charles Leclerc had two wins under his belt to lead Ferrari’s blossoming title challenge, its most credible since 2018. Twelve months on, he has only finished one race of three to call it the “worst-ever start of the season”. Meanwhile, a distant sixth in Saudi Arabia left team-mate Carlos Sainz convinced that major car changes, rather than minor set-up tweaks, were now essential. 

All told, Ferrari sits just fourth in the table while its 2022 rival Red Bull maintains a perfect win record. Yet new team boss Fred Vasseur cuts a much more optimistic figure. “We are [heading] in the right direction,” he says. “The mood in the team is more than good.”

This positive sentiment comes despite him dismissing the prospect of Maranello designing a ‘B-spec’ car for later this term. Since there is no silver bullet on the horizon certain to revive fortunes then, why is he this upbeat? 

First, it should be acknowledged that both drivers and Vasseur might be guilty of overegging the pudding. Leclerc delivered his soundbite shortly after a contact-induced spin into the gravel on the opening lap of the Australian Grand Prix. Talking in the heat of the moment, it’s understandable if he held a particularly bleak outlook. Vasseur, meanwhile, might not want to tank morale or upset the Ferrari board this soon into his tenure so would be inclined to be a little more sanguine. 

It is also easy to pick fault with Vasseur citing the first three venues of Bahrain (abrasive asphalt), Saudi (dominated by straight-line performance) and Australia (heavily disrupted by red flags) as all having been anomalous. He says: “We need to understand that three events, it’s not the complete panel of the tracks”, and adds that fast Baku is also unconventional so even after four rounds, the true competitive order might not be clear. Only when the season settles down at more conventional circuits will Ferrari’s downforce-dominated car concept flex its muscles.  

However, the problem with this argument is that to cast aside four tracks is to write off getting on for a quarter of the season. Plus, the team won at two of the venues last year and might have added a third in Azerbaijan had Leclerc’s engine not detonated. Finally, Red Bull’s clean sweep in this time proves a car can be suited to a variety of circumstances. But…