Vasseur: Now we can fight with Red Bull

Over the first two races in the 2024 F1 season, Ferrari have firmly held the position of the second fastest team behind Red Bull with Carlos Sainz finishing third, behind Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in Bahrain, Charles Leclerc doing the same in Saudi Arabia.

While there is still a considerable between Ferrari and Red Bull, Vasseur insists on seeing the glass half full, reckoning his team can now work from the platform they have to improve and take the fight to the reigning F1 Champions.

Speaking after the race in Jeddah, quoted by Motorsport.com, Vasseur said: "Now, I don't want to be pessimistic, because it was a good weekend and we have to be optimistic and we need to enjoy these moments, but it's clear Red Bull is still ahead.

"In quali they have perhaps two/three tenths on us, and in the race a bit more. But it's difficult to estimate because we don't know if they were pushing at the max.

"But the feeling is more positive that, if you come back in this region, you know if you do a step, you can put some pressure on them.

"When we were at one second [behind] it was useless, but now with a good start we can be there, we can fight," the he insisted. "I think in Jeddah it was quite easy [for them] to overtake because they had a better top speed - it was a choice - but on some occasions we will have other opportunities."

While Ferrari have so far bagged almost double the amount of points compared to 2023, Vasseur insisted the Championship is the least of his concerns, his priority being the development of the SF-24, already proving a better car than its predecessor.

He added: "I am not focused at all on the championship, but I think we scored something like 45 points [Ferrari scored 49] overall, and last year after three races we had 25 [Ferrari scored 26]. It's important to have a good start.

"Also, I think the fact that the car is, I don't want to say easy to drive and in any case it doesn't have anything to do with the performance - but I think the car today is easier to drive than one year ago.

"This is a good base for the development, because the car is much easier to read for the drivers, so it is much easier to understand where we have to improve, and in this situation it's a step forward for us for the overall picture," the Frenchman maintained.

One aspect that proves the SF-24 is an improvement, is the fact that it has shown both in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia that is is kinder on its tyres than the 2023 car, which means Ferrari have taken a good step in eliminating a chronic weakness that has marred their recent F1 campaigns.

But Vasseur insists that aspect is not the only way to improve, he explained: "The performance is coming from everywhere, and it's never that you have one bullet of five tenths on the car.

"If we want to catch up, we have to improve in every single area. It was our approach last year and at the end it paid well. We did a decent step but in every single area we have to continue to push.

"For sure the aero is key. We have upgrades in the pipeline but I'm sure that everybody does. The most important thing is to bring upgrades that you can operate on the car, and I think it's where last year we did a good job," Vasseur concluded.