“I think so”: Ferrari boss feels Red Bull can still be caught despite their dominant start to the F1 season

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur claims Red Bull can still be caught despite their dominant start to the 2023 F1 season. The Austrian team have had one-two finishes in both the opening two races this year, showing their understanding of the new regulations.

Meanwhile, the Scuderia had a dismal start to the new season, with Charles Leclerc bowing out of the first race due to a reliability issue. Their pace wasn't much better in Jeddah either, with both cars finishing behind Mercedes.

Vasseur, who was brought in to replace former boss Mattia Binotto, believes that thinking about the gap to Red Bull is not the right approach to improving Ferrari's current predicament. He believes the team should instead focus on its own faults and look at rectifying them in times to come.

Speaking to Formula1.com, the team boss said when asked about the gap to Red Bull:

“I think so; we have to continue to push. It’s not the right attitude to think about the gap and think about will we be able to close the gap and so on. We have to focus on ourselves, we know when we are weak and we have to improve on this one. We will see what is the outcome when we do a decent step. If you start to think about what could be the future potential with development, you are lost."

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Internal leaks responsible for negative press for Ferrari after Bahrain GP

The negative press that Ferrari received after the 2023 Bahrain GP is believed to be a result of intentional "internal leaks" by certain members of the team.

During the race, Charles Leclerc encountered a power unit issue that led to his withdrawal, while Carlos Sainz finished in fourth place. Following the season opener in Bahrain, the contract details of several Scuderia employees were exposed, allegedly due to an internal leak within the team.

According to AMuS, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur remains unfazed by the leaks, but he recognizes the need to put an end to the problem. Among the leaked information were the contract details of aerodynamicist Enrico Cardile, revealing that his contract was expiring soon.

These leaks were purportedly disseminated by internal members who may hold a grudge against the upper management.

The team is currently going through a rough patch after failing to impress in Jeddah as well. It remains to be seen if the Italian giants will make it back to the top of the sport soon.