(Motorsports news) In September, Ferrari changed the floor at Suzuka in an attempt to increase aerodynamic efficiency. Along with a reworked sidepod undercut, the revamp included modifications to the diffuser sidewall, floor edge, mid-floor, and front-floor fences. Charles Leclerc was able to feel more at ease in the SF-23 thanks to the Scuderia’s attempts to decrease drag, since Carlos Sainz, a teammate, had replaced the Monegasque as the team’s primary driver during the summer break.

Even while the change didn’t add much lap time, it did give Leclerc more leverage over the vehicle, which let him overtake Sainz by finishing the last five race weekends with three podiums and three pole positions. Vasseur remarked, “We had a small upgrade in Japan, and I don’t know if it was something bigger in terms of pure performance, but I think it was important and very beneficial for Leclerc in terms of comfort.”

“I believe that over the final six or seven races of the season, Leclerc was in considerably better form. This dynamic was advantageous. In my opinion, we made some improvements to the car and increased consistency a little later. As a result, we were able to race with greater consistency or with less effort.”

But Vasseur was careful not to emphasize the differences in performance between his two drivers, or really between them and the other front-runners, since the race behind Red Bull was decided by tenths, with Ferrari falling short of Mercedes in the battle for second. Sometimes the devil is in the details. We are talking about tenths of seconds at the end of the day, and we have to understand that they are athletes from one weekend to the next,” he said.

“I view Roger Federer and his team as athletes with ups and downs because they can win at Wimbledon one day and lose the next. It is a fact of life in our industry that, five years ago, the Mercedes drivers could miss a single corner and still hold the lead. Today, that isn’t the case; if you miss even one corner, you lose in Q1. “If you look at the two McLarens, they were able to battle for pole in Abu Dhabi after being out of contention in qualifying in Las Vegas. This probably applies to Max Verstappen, but it also applies to Checo Perez, so we don’t have to jump to any major conclusions after a single change.”

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