“Good to Finish P3 on a Good Tone Than P2 on a Bad”: Fred Vasseur Takes a Dig at Mercedes After Losing P2 Berth Fight

After Ferrari failed to snatch P2 in the Constructors’ Championship from Mercedes, Fred Vasseur took a dig at the Silver Arrows. In his post-race interview, the Frenchman stated that he would rather finish P3 on a “good tone” than P2 on a “bad” note.

As quoted by Junaid Samodien on X, Vasseur said, “You know perfectly that the mood of the team is built on results. We have the dynamic on our side. Our clear target was to finish P2, but it was good to finish P3 on a good tone than P2 on a bad.”

The season began with Mercedes getting the better of Ferrari in most races. However, in the last few races, the pendulum swung in favor of the Prancing Horse. Vasseur is happy to have momentum on his side heading into 2024 even if it means that his team did not get the extra $10 million for finishing P2.

How did Mercedes suffer in the latter half of the season?

Even though Mercedes hung onto P2 in the Constructors’ Championship, they have had several issues in the second half of the 2023 season. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell consistently faced issues with the brake and balance of the car. That was not it as they also faced reliability concerns over the course of the campaign.

Hamilton complained about these issues repeatedly and sadly for Mercedes fans, he even faced the same during the Abu Dhabi GP qualification. James Allison and his team are now doing their best to rediscover their form in the 2024 campaign.

Mercedes is reportedly pushing forward to bring a radical new concept for their W15. Russell shared a positive insight into this recently and this is something the fans can bank on all winter before F1 returns in Bahrain in three month’s time.