“The upgrade is crucial”: Ferrari boss points to key element behind Charles Leclerc’s Monza triumph

Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur recently explained Charles Leclerc and the team's sudden resurgence in the Italian GP as the Monegasque clinched the race victory. Not only did Vasseur discuss the importance of the upgrade package, but also pointed toward the importance of tire management.

Leclerc had a surprisingly good race at Monza. Though the start of the weekend was normal and he qualified P4 for the race, the Grand Prix itself turned out to be brilliant. Leclerc was in second place in the first few laps of the race after overtaking McLaren's Lando Norris and George Russell.

While both McLaren drivers looked strong in terms of pace, their tires were degrading much quicker than Ferraris. Hence, the British team drivers had to make two pitstops, while Leclerc continued on his hard tires and gradually moved to the top and brought home the victory for Ferrari.

In the Italian GP, Ferrari also brought a massive upgrade package as an answer to their recent woes in the European leg of races before the summer break.

Speaking to the media, Vasseur explained that though the new parts were crucial in Ferrari's success at Monza, tire management from Leclerc also played a major role, particularly because McLaren was not able to do so in the race.

He added that the performance bumps an upgrade package brings show itself in qualifying sessions, where the lap times and overall pace are much closer. Vasseur said (via "RacingNews365"):

“For sure, you can say that the upgrade is crucial. But in the end, the pace [in the race] was more linked to the tire management. It’s in quali where you have six or eight cars [between] one or two-tenths that every single upgrade will pay a lot,” Vasseur said.

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Ferrari team boss on not focusing on the championship, but on consistently good performance

Frederic Vasseur recently spoke about not focusing on constructors' or drivers' world championships and explained why he prefers focusing on race-by-race performances.

Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, the Ferrari team principal said that he is more focused on performing well every single race weekend and that the titles will automatically follow.

“I didn't pay attention to the championship, and I won't pay attention to the championship. I think we just have to do a good job to do the best every single weekend, and if something has to come, it will come," Vasseur said.

Vasseur also claimed that teams tend to become too cautious and make mistakes in strategy, tire management, and more if they are too focused on the championship.

"But the worst, I think, would be to be focused on the championship, to be conservative, to do this kind of approach, because on the same weekend, for details, you can move from P1-2 to 7-8, for strategy, for tire management, for whatever the reasons," he added.

As of now, the Italian giants stand in third place in the constructors' standings with 407 points. They are chasing second-placed McLaren (438) and defending world champions Red Bull (446).