Ferrari looked at Red Bull photos following Perez's crash: "Interesting"
- GPblog.com
Ferrari finished third in the constructors' championship but found some starting points for the upcoming F1 season. Although the points gap with Red Bull Racing was considerable, Ferrari hopes to largely bridge it in 2024.
At the start of 2022, Ferrari still looked like a serious title contender under the new regulations. The Italians' new car got off to a strong start, but it soon became clear that Red Bull Racing were stronger. Over the entire season, the RB18, especially in the hands of Max Verstappen, was superior.
In 2023, Ferrari wanted to close the gap. However, this proved more difficult than expected. Ferrari's concept proved unable to gain much ground on the competition. The sidepods in particular hindered the team, Enrico Cardille told Auto, Motor und Sport. However, Ferrari's technical director is optimistic for 2024.
What Ferrari learned from Red Bull Racing
"We are at the top of our game, not far away from Red Bull Racing. For this we do need fresh tyres, complete confidence among the drivers and ideal conditions. During the race, we never get these factors stable over a whole stint. We believe the Red Bull can handle changing conditions much better."
Competitors of Red Bull Racing, including Ferrari, like to observe the RB19 of Adrian Newey and his team. In Monaco, a crash by Sergio Perez made it possible for anyone to take pictures of the underside of the car, something Ferrari has been looking at closely.
"It is part of our job to analyse the cars of the competition. So we have more than one photo. Although the cars are different, it was interesting to see the underside of the Red Bull. They take a different approach from the competition. However, you have to look at such a picture in the right way. One-to-one copying never works, but you can understand what they are trying to do and get inspiration from this," Cardille concluded.