Ferrari’s Frédéric Vasseur: “SF-23 lived up to our expectations” in Monza

Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur was pleased with the team’s result at their home Italian Grand Prix, with Carlos Sainz securing third place and Charles Leclerc taking fourth after a tough run against Red Bull Racing.

The result allowed Ferrari to overtake Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team for third place in the constructor’s standings. Although the team would have been vying for both drivers on the podium or potentially a win on home turf, Vasseur said that they achieved the maximum result. 

“It was a great race and the result was the best we could do today, finishing on the podium in front of our fans and bringing home 27 points which sees us get ahead of Aston Martin and close on Mercedes.”

Vasseur added that the team allowed the Ferrari duo’s thrilling battle for third to take place as they understood the importance of being on the podium in Monza, though it was made clear that they were not to “take any risks.”

“We dedicate this result to our fans who have been so supportive all weekend long and we are pleased to have put on a good show both yesterday in qualifying and today, especially at the end of the race when we let our drivers fight it out for third place.” 

“We did that because we know how special it is to be on the podium here, but we also told them not to take any risks and they complied with that.”

Overall, Vasseur said that the team can look back on this weekend fondly as they move on from the European portion of the season and are set to take on the Singapore Grand Prix in two week’s time. 

“Carlos drove really well all weekend and Charles also recovered well after getting off to a difficult start on Friday. In two weeks we start from scratch again in Singapore, but for today we can be happy with what we have done here. We knew our car would be more competitive on this sort of track and the SF-23 lived up to our expectations.”