The 2023 season saw Max Verstappen achieve an unprecedented level of success as the Dutchman won a record 19 races. Experiencing little competition throughout the season, the three-time world champion created one record after another with each passing race. Standing as the team principal of the only team other than Red Bull to win a race in 2023, Fred Vasseur has now come forth to detail what the rest of the grid needs to do to halt the Dutch juggernaut.
Assessing the season’s performance during a conversation with Autosport, Vasseur pointed out how Verstappen faced very little pressure from the opposition drivers, making life much easier for the Dutchman. As such, the 55-year-old believes if Verstappen were to face more pressure, he would make mistakes and might end up losing races, too.
“There is no doubt on the fact that he was dominating all the season. And the only issue for us is that, as everybody, he will do more mistakes when he will be under pressure.”
Vasseur added that no one was able to put the three-time world champion under any pressure apart from Sergio Perez in the opening four races of the season. The second half of the season saw a resurgent Ferrari often steal pole position from Red Bull and Verstappen, but the team was still not able to put enough pressure on the 26-year-old to force a mistake. However, Vasseur is hopeful his team can carry the momentum into 2024 and make the most of it.
Ferrari needs to churn the best out of each opportunity to oust Max Verstappen
Looking ahead to the 2024 season, Vasseur knows his team can only be competitive if they fetch adequate results. Despite Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz securing multiple front-row qualifying positions, neither driver was able to hold off a challenge from Verstappen, who often overtook them with little defense. Hence, the Ferrari team principal believes his team needs to “be more opportunistic and more efficient.”
He added the phrase “what if” would be completely ‘forbidden’ for the team in 2024 as he wants his team to stop dwelling on what could have been. Instead, the head of the Maranello camp wants his team to learn their lessons as they come and not repeat any mistakes. Vasseur believes the concept of ‘if’ cost his team a major chunk of points, which allowed Mercedes to secure P2 in the constructors’ championship, and wants to avoid repeating the same in 2024.
