Vasseur credits Ferrari 2023 progress to ‘more aggressive’ mindset

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Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur believes his team's progress in the second half of the 2023 season was due in part to a “more aggressive” approach that fostered productive risk-taking.

Vasseur replaced Scuderia boss Mattia Binotto at the helm of the Italian outfit in early 2023. Due to his late arrival in Maranello, the Frenchman’s leadership had no bearing on the design of Ferrari’s SF-23 car.

But it did instill over the course of the season a mindset that prioritized performance over fear of failure, driving the team forward despite chassis limitations.

Vasseur reckons that the shift in mentality yielded more lap time than the actual upgrades themselves, showcasing the power of a fearless and determined approach.

"When you arrive in this group, you need to understand how the group is working before taking any action or decision," Vasseur explained.

"The main topic for us and the biggest improvement we did the season was more on the approach and the mentality. I think that we took more risk, we were a bit more aggressive and this played a part.

"We have to be ambitious and not be scared of any incident or something like this, and I think we did a step on this."

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While the change of mindset delivered only marginal gains, they were good enough to push Ferrari forward on a remarkably tight grid.

"When we said that we were in a tough situation at the beginning, we were probably two or three tenths off," Vasseur said.

"We made a step of one or two tenths. Now the grid is so compact and so tight that for one or two tenths you can change completely the physiognomy of the weekend.

©Ferrari

"We brought an upgrade in Japan, but it was not a big one. I'm still convinced that it's more on the track operation that we did the step in the last third of the season, much more than on the development of the car.

"In the last part of the season we were much more aggressive. And it's a matter of tenths. You make up 0.020s here and 0.020s there and at the end, it's one tenth."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.