Fred Vasseur Believes Ferrari Could ”Pressure” Red Bull to Make “Mistakes” After Strong Australian Outing

Ferrari had an impressive outing in Australia after they secured a 1-2 finish, for the first since Bahrain 2022. Even though the reigning champion Max Verstappen’s DNF definitely helped the Scuderia secure such an outstanding result, Fred Vasseur believes, as per his comments on SkySports, that his team can force Red Bull to make some crucial errors under pressure.

“This weekend I think it’s good evidence that when we are putting everything together, and I’m not sure that we’ll be able to do it every single weekend, we can put them a little bit under pressure,” Vasseur said. “And it’s when they are under pressure that they will also make more mistakes.”

The Ferrari boss further added that his team needs to continue in the current trajectory they have taken and improve with every coming week. Surely, the performance in Australia was a positive sight of relief for the team with the most points after Red Bull in the standings.

Even when Verstappen was in the race, Carlos Sainz seemed to be on par with him. And, Red Bull admitted that they saw a lack of suitability in Albert Park, which kept them at a deficit until Verstappen secured a pole.

However, holistically Red Bull’s RB20 is still a superior car. In the majority of the tracks yet to come, the Milton-Keynes-based side is likely to register more wins. But that doesn’t discourage Ferrari after what they’ve created over the winter.

Fred Vasseur sees massive promise in 2024 car

Compared to 2023, Ferrari made an overhaul in their concept under the current regulations while building the 2024 car. The Frenchman has further revealed that the 2024 car is far easier to develop compared to its predecessor.

“The car is much easier to drive, much easier to read also for the drivers. By the way, much easier to develop,” claimed Vasseur. Such a massive step has admittedly given more confidence to the Maranello-based team, as per Vasseur that’s the key to success in F1.

While he mentioned that the car is easier to develop this year, there were rumors of Ferrari getting their reported Imola updates earlier. However, Vasseur has denied those claims. According to him, that will be too early to push the updates earlier.

When asked by TG1 whether Ferrari can be competitive in the championship this year, Vasseut replied with an affirmative. However, he also added that it could be early for this season. So, it could be a hint towards a massively competitive 2025 season.