After Huge Carlos Sainz Setback, Frederic Vasseur Names Benchmark for Ferrari to Overpower Mercedes

Carlos Sainz couldn’t even start the 2023 Qatar GP after Ferrari diagnosed his car with a fuel system issue. Naturally, with one car out of the running, the Maranello-based team lost out to some crucial points against Mercedes in their fight for P2. Now, with only 5 races remaining for the team to secure P2 in the Constructors’ championship, team principal Frederic Vasseur has come out with a benchmark that will ensure victory against the Silver Arrows, per FormulaPassion.

The 2023 season was dotted with only Red Bull victories before the Singapore GP. With the Bulls and Max Verstappen struggling at the Marina Bay circuit, everyone wondered who it would be that would put an end to the Milton-Keynes-based outfit’s incessant run of dominance. In the end, it was Ferrari, with Carlos Sainz strapped into the SF-23, who took the chequered flag as the race-winner.

📰: Former Ferrari team manager, Peter Windsor, questions the ‘bizarre’ decision by Ferrari to abandon fixing Carlos Sainz’s fuel system issue just an hour before the Qatar GP, despite teams resolving similar problems on the grid in the past. Sainz missed the race due to a fuel… pic.twitter.com/8yREVQY8xW

— F1 Naija (@f1_naija) October 12, 2023

The 2023 Singapore GP is exactly the benchmark that Vasseur has been hinting at in the backdrop of a torrid Qatar GP.

Ferrari need to recalibrate if they want to salvage the season

According to Vasseur, his team needs to get back to their strongest if they want to fend off Mercedes’ charge towards P2 on the grid. The Italian team have a handy 28-point advantage over the Silver Arrows, and Vasseur believes that the team needs to capitalize on their recent run of form at Singapore and Japan.

He said, “We come from a race in which we paid dearly for a reliability problem on Carlos’ SF-23 and we have worked to ensure that similar situations no longer prevent us from fielding both cars at the start. We must return to the level we demonstrated in Singapore and Japan, because only in this way can we optimize the performance of our package and put Charles and Carlos in a position to give their best.”

FORMULA 1 AT ITS ABSOLUTE FINEST, CARLOS SAINZ TACTICAL BRILLIANCE, CARLOS SAINZ IS THE WINNER OF THE SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
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— maria 🌙 (@txrstegenx) October 15, 2023

That being said, Ferrari need actually to battle on two fronts. While Mercedes are the closest rivals to the Scuderia in terms of P2 in the championship, the pacey McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are also threatening to challenge with five races to go.

McLaren can rain of Ferrari’s parade

The Papaya team are pretty bullish about their chances in terms of catching up to Ferrari as the season nears its conclusion. The Woking-based team have had a meteoric rise in pace ever since the British GP. Since then, the team have always at least been in the mix for a podium. Naturally, the potential points haul brings them within the P2 equation.

McLaren have a stellar lineup with the likes of Norris and Piastri within their ranks. What’s more? With how pacey the rejuvenated MCL60 has been looking in the recent race weekends, the team can’t be blamed for aiming for the stars.

No matter which way the fight for supremacy in the Constructors’ championship goes, all three teams in the mix have a hectic few races to go before one of them tastes glory whilst the others lament their fates.