Vasseur reveals mistake Ferrari can't repeat in 2024

Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur has stated that his squad must manage its expectations ahead of the 2024 Formula 1 season and not repeat having them “too high”.

Ahead of this past F1 campaign Ferrari was hopeful of mounting a championship fight on Red Bull after returning to the top step of the podium the year before.

However, Red Bull dominated the campaign by winning 21 out of the 22 races staged.

Ferrari was the only other team to win a race as Carlos Sainz prevailed in Singapore, but the Italian outfit dropped to third place in the Constructors' Championship behind Mercedes as it also encountered various issues during the season.

Speaking to media including RacingNews365.com, Vasseur has admitted that Ferrari's expectations were too high ahead of the year.

"For sure, I think the level of expectation was a bit too high at the beginning of the season," Vasseur said.

"We understood quickly the situation after a couple of laps in Bahrain and even a couple of laps into the simulator before Bahrain.

"But what I would keep in mind this season is the reaction of the team. We had a tough moment but remember after Jeddah, Miami, Spain or Zandvoort, Zandvoort is not so far away and we were almost lapped.

"I think that we, compared to Zandvoort, collectively made a huge step forward and this is good for the future. It's on this progression that we can build for next year.

Vasseur has called on Ferrari to modify their expectations ahead of next year to avoid the prospect of looking foolish.

“I don't know if it will be better next year, nobody knows," he said. "But you know what you're doing in your business and it's always a matter of comparison.

"If you can make up one second and the others are doing 1.5s then you look stupid. But if they do five-tenths then you look like a hero.

"I don't want to be too optimistic because it was probably one of the issues we had last season.

"We just have to be focused on what we are doing and not think about the outcome of the championship before it is won.”