Ferrari won its second Grand Prix of the 2024 season in Monaco and it was a special one for Charles Leclerc, with it being his home race. There were delirious celebrations at the Italian outfit’s garage as Fred Vasseur was ecstatic alongside the Monegasque driver. Now, in the broader scheme of things, the Ferrari team boss has also claimed that this season’s championship is still wide open for the taking.
According to FormulaPassion, Vasseur said, “I never said that the championship was closed. There are still 16 races and around 500 points can be collected. At the same time, I think Red Bull and Verstappen never thought they were already champions.”
TEAM STANDINGS AFTER 8 ROUNDS
Ferrari move to within striking distance of Red Bull #F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/h95DcLXdPb
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 26, 2024
The Frenchman cited how there are three teams now in the fight for poles and race wins every weekend – Ferrari, Red Bull, and McLaren. While he admitted that the competitive advantage might swing in either team’s favor at different tracks, they are within striking distance of having a chance for the 2024 title.
Even Red Bull admits that they are under pressure and not at their dominant best like in 2023. The Austrian team struggled at the Miami and Monaco GP races, with their RB20 facing major handling issues in the Principality.
Meanwhile, McLaren and Ferrari have polished their challengers with significant upgrades in Miami and Imola respectively. At the Monaco GP, both teams locked out the front two rows and finished the race accordingly to take a massive chunk of points in the constructors.
While Monaco is a peculiar track, Vasseur knows that they have the pace and potential to keep Red Bull in check for the rest of the season. The past three races have given enough evidence of why the Ferrari boss is openly claiming a championship fight in 2024.
Can Fred Vasseur’s prophecy carry on at the Canadian GP?
After three consecutive races where Red Bull have not looked at ease, it won’t be an easy recovery for the defending champions going into the next round in Canada. However, with the Montreal track being a unique one, nothing can be said about Ferrari and McLaren’s competitiveness, too.
Max Verstappen has stated that their car has a fundamental design issue of having handling issues on tracks with excessive bumps and kerbs, essentially street circuits. Monaco was the classic example of the same with the Austrian team experiencing similar issues last year in Singapore.
While Red Bull performed rather well at the 2023 Canadian GP, it is pertinent to note that they had a decent performance advantage at that point of the season. 12 months later, with Ferrari and McLaren being relatively closer on ultimate pace, this year’s Canadian GP could be a wide-open battle.
There are unique elements to the track in Montreal with long straights and fast chicanes that may tilt the performance balance in either team’s favor. Thus, on a circuit with overtaking opportunities galore, another race where Red Bull comes second best is not outside the realms of possibility.
