Frederic Vasseur Admits Beating McLaren is a Long Shot: ‘I Would Rather Be 24 Points Behind Than 200

With two races to go in 2024, Ferrari are as close to winning the Constructors’ World Championship as they have been in the last decade. A 24-point deficit is all they have to overcome to stand on top of the F1 summit for the first time in 16 years. Fred Vasseur, however, is not too confident about sealing the deal.

In a recent interview with Motorsport Total, Vasseur highlighted how Qatar (the next venue) has a track where Ferrari struggled last season. Carlos Sainz had a fuel leak in his car whereas Charles Leclerc could only manage P5.

“We have to stay focused and try to get the best out of it and keep McLaren under pressure for the last race. That is important because anything can happen in the last race”, the Team Principal said.

At the same time, Vasseur admitted to liking how his team is still in the hunt for the Championship so late into the season. From a long-term perspective, this suggests that Ferrari are on the right trajectory.

“We will push until the last corner of the last lap of the last race. I would rather be 24 points behind than 200.”

“We will push until the last corner of the last lap of the last race.” And Vasseur also says: “I would rather be 24 points behind than 200.”

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Vasseur is cautiously optimistic about what can unfold at the Qatar GP weekend, given the presence of a Sprint race. With eight extra points on offer for a Sprint win, Ferrari could close the gap to McLaren by a bigger margin, provided they pair it with a strong race result. However, for that to happen, the SF-24 will need to tackle the long-radius corners of the Lusail International Circuit—an area that has been a weakness for the car.

It is a battle of legacy teams with McLaren and Ferrari being traditional rivals since the 1970s. However, their trophy cabinets have picked up some dust with the Woking team’s last constructors’ title coming back in 1998. Meanwhile, the Scuderia has also been struggling to win the same.