Red Bull decimated every opposition in the 2023 season as they registered an emphatic 21 wins out of 22 races. Despite the same, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur believes that it would be a mistake to just presume that the Milton Keynes outfit have a “magic bullet” heading into 2024.
The Frenchman said in his recent interview that Ferrari need to improve in all areas to close down the gap to Red Bull rather than focus on just improving upon one area. As quoted by Autosport, the 55-year-old said, “I think the mistake would be to imagine that Red Bull, they have a magic bullet of five-tenths or that we made a step on something“.
Vasseur then added that Ferrari have been gaining performance by working on several areas simultaneously. He stated that for example, the team has been able to get the parts quicker and have also made improvements in reliability.
The Ferrari team principal then concluded his remarks by explaining how every small step is likely to make a difference to help his side edge closer to Red Bull, who many believe will be the favorites also heading into 2024. However, Red Bull will not have it easy as it is not just Ferrari who are hoping to reduce the deficit to them.
Which team are likely to emerge as Red Bull’s biggest challenger in 2024?
As many as four teams are hoping to emerge as the biggest challengers to Red Bull in 2024. Longtime rivals Ferrari and Mercedes are undoubtedly expected to be in the hunt. Meanwhile, the likes of McLaren and Aston Martin also made good progress in 2023.
Although McLaren and Aston Martin finished only fourth and fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, their drivers came the closest to fighting Red Bull for wins this season. Hence, depending upon how much improvements these sides make heading into 2024, there is also a slight possibility that there could be a five-way battle for the title.
Among all of Red Bull’s rivals, Ferrari do seem in the best position to challenge them. Not only do the Prancing Horse have more wind tunnel time than Mercedes because of finishing lower in the Constructors Championship, but they also seemed to make the most progress in the last few races.
Charles Leclerc grabbed three podiums in the last four races and almost also beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for the win in Las Vegas. Another reason why Fred Vasseur believes that his team is likely to be one of the favorites to fight Red Bull is because of how well their upgrade worked post the Japanese GP.
“We had an upgrade in Japan I think, but basically we kept the same car, and we were able to do a much better job with a better understanding of the car, better set-up of the car, and a better approach from the drivers,” explained Vasseur.
