Vasseur: I want to see Ferrari step up a gear in Austria

After Monaco, Max Verstappen (169 points) led the F1 Drivers' Championship standings by 31 points from Charles Leclerc (138) While their ace was firing, wingman Sergio Perez (107 points) has lost the plot. Red Bull (276 points) only led the F1 Constructors' standings by 24 points from Ferrari. It was Round 8.

Canada and Spain happened since then. Heading to Austria, Leclerc is no longer P2 in the standings as Lando Norris now has that privilege as McLaren's rise in form has been consistent, unlike their Italian rivals.

Leclerc (148 points) is now P3 on the Drivers' points table 71 points down on Verstappen (219) and two off Norris (150). Red Bull now lead the Constructors' standings by 60 points for their home race this weekend.

With Italy 'asking questions' about their national team's sudden demise, Ferrari team boss Vasseur spelt out the reality for his team as they land in Spielberg: "The upgrades introduced in Spain worked as expected, but clearly our competitors have not been twiddling their thumbs.

"At the moment there are four teams all within less than three-tenths of one another," explained Vasseur, referring to the slimmest of gaps in the pecking order in Barcelona Qualifying. The top seven were covered by less than half a second on Saturday.

With the 1:04.391s pole-winning time last year as the benchmark, expect the margins to be even finer in Austria than they were in Spain, and Canada where the pole went to Mercedes driver George Russell. But Verstappen set an identical time and had to settle for P2 because he set it later. In other words, it's very, very close!

Looking to Red Bull Ring this weekend, Vasseur said: "Now we have Austria, a track that takes just a little over a minute to lap, so that those aforementioned gaps could become even smaller. We will be focusing completely on ourselves, because in Spielberg each tiny detail can make a difference.

"This weekend also sees the return of the Sprint Race format, so the work carried out back in Maranello becomes even more significant, as there is only one hour of free practice prior to qualifying. Everyone in the team, including the drivers, must be on top of their game to ensure we don’t miss any opportunities that come our way.

"That applies to qualifying, especially when up against such strong opponents and also in terms of how we execute the race. I want to see us step up a gear in Austria," declared Vasseur, ahead of his 33rd race in charge of the world's most popular F1 team.