The Red Bull team have dominated the 2023 season as they have already won the Constructors’ Championship with six races remaining in the campaign. While there is not much action for the championship, there is a tight battle for second place. Second-placed Mercedes just have a 20 points lead over third-placed Ferrari. Now, as the competition enters its business phase, the Prancing Horse have issued a challenge to the Silver Arrows.
Ferrari have issued a challenge to their rivals after having had a drastic improvement in form in their recent races. The pair of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc have helped the team score 118 points in just the last five races. In stark contrast, Mercedes have just managed to score 82 points in this duration.
Now, as per Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur’s recent remarks, the Italian side are keen on strengthening their form this season even further. The Frenchman recently explained how Ferrari are keen to fight and how doing so will also help provide the side with the necessary motivation to even carry forward their form into the 2023 season.
Ferrari keen on finishing second in the Constructors’ Championship
In his most recent interview with it.motorsport.com, Fred Vasseur made it clear about what Ferrari’s goals are for the remainder of the 2023 season. The Frenchman stated that the Italian outfit are in a fight with Mercedes and will do their best to finish second in the Constructors’ Championship.
“We shouldn’t postpone the fight, the fight today is with Mercedes and we have to do it. It’s always the best way to prepare for the future. For the mentality of the team, it’s crucial for everyone to be in the fight. We want to fight until the end of the season. This is never a sacrifice because I believe that performance comes from performing,” he explained.
🇯🇵Pace was very good today. The undercut of Lewis compromised the race and although I did everything to recover we had to settle for P6. We’ll analyse it to see if we could’ve done something different and recharge batteries for Qatar.
–#CarlosSainz pic.twitter.com/FYrENRrTgi
— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) September 24, 2023
Vasseur then concluded his remarks by explaining how the competition between their two drivers is positive for the team. The 55-year-old believes that because of the way Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz push each other, they also motivate the rest of the members on the team to do the best they can.
Even though Ferrari have rediscovered a significant amount of form recently, Mercedes are yet confident of hanging on to second place in the Constructors’ Championship. Since it is the Silver Arrows that have a 20-point lead in the championship over the Prancing Horse, they believe that they are in a better position.
Mercedes on the back foot in terms of performance
Even though Mercedes are ahead in the championship, they are currently on the back foot in terms of performance. Top British engineer Andrew Shovlin explained in a recent interview (as quoted by Junaid) about how his side needs to discover more performance in the car if they are to finish second in the Constructors’ Championship.
However, he does believe that their 20-point cushion over Ferrari will prove to be crucial to help them finish second despite their recent struggles. Now, with just six races remaining in the 2023 season, the battle between the two teams for second in the championship is likely to go down to the wire.
