Fred Wasser is completing a year at the helm of the Scuderia and the new 2024 Ferrari will be the first Cavallino to be designed under his leadership. This means that the grace period of 2023 ends, and now the pressure to achieve results is beginning to become more and more overwhelming.

During the two years of ground effect, Ferrari faced major fluctuations in performance. From the first victories in 2022, there was a big curve from last year to this summer and again to competitiveness from September to the end of 2023.

But the Scuderia’s competitiveness since the Monza GP wasn’t enough to beat Red Bull and Max Verstappen on an equal footing – although with Carlos Sainz in Singapore it was the only team to miss out on an RBR win this year.

The Maranello team must therefore take another step to fight for the titles in 2024, as is their permanent goal, and this step must be bigger than the one that Milton Keynes will take this winter.

The first numbers from the simulator in Maranello show that the step has been taken and that the 2024 “Project 676” is faster than this year’s car. And creating a faster car is at the heart of improving all aspects of the Scuderia in the fight for championships, as Fred Wasser explains below. Let’s see what the Frenchman has to say about five different aspects of Ferrari ahead of the season that begins in Bahrain on March 1-2, 2024:

For the new car 2024: “I don’t know if that’s the right word [σ.σ.: ότι το νέο μονοθέσιο θα είναι ‘επαναστατικό’]. We have had the same regulations for the third year in a row, and the situation cannot be radically changed. I repeat, we are talking tenths of a second, we are seeing a performance improvement of 0.1 inch or 0.2%. Of course we have to take a step, and I don’t underestimate this step. We are replacing 95% of the car’s components, so you could call it a “revolution”. But I don’t know if it will really be like that.

We tried to improve every detail to achieve more performance. To get into the details, tire wear wasn’t the only factor holding us back [φέτος]. In some games we had to apply more pressure [το μονοθέσιο] to stay close to our opponents, and that had its effects. So there’s not much we can do to improve tire management. We just need a faster car.

For the 2023 report and targets for ’24:
“Nobody can be satisfied with what we did at the beginning of the year. We had a lot of reliability issues and I was the first to be upset about that and our performance.

But above all the team’s reaction, the ability to gain a lot of positions, the fact that we threatened Verstappen in some races was a good step, even if we are not happy. I don’t need Mr. Vinia [διευθύνοντα σύμβουλο της Ferrari] or Mr. Elkan [πρόεδρο της Ferrari] tell me something I’m not happy with third place, that’s clear, but I’m more than happy with the team’s reaction and I think everyone shares that feeling“.

Now about the requirements [του 2024]: The prerequisite is that we commit ourselves, take a good step forward, but in the end it is always a question of comparison. You can improve to 100, but if others improve to 120, you will look like an idiot, but if they improve to 80, you will look like a superhero.

The most important thing at the moment is to keep pushing, keep improving and put our two drivers at the heart of the process so that they are fully involved in the development of the car. So far we are moving in the right direction. I don’t know if the other teams will go more or less in the same direction, we’ll see that in Bahrain.

We want to improve compared to 2023. We had a difficult six months leading up to the race in Monza, but we reacted well. It is true that his demands [Μπενεντέτο] Vinia and her Ferrari were higher, but he also appreciated the way the team handled problems, including a lack of credibility. We won some pole positions, won with Saint in Singapore and matured in the second half of the championship.

The lesson I learned? They had told me you would see it Ferrari “You’ll start the year well and then it’ll go downhill.” But it didn’t happen. I tried to get people to take risks without fear of consequences, because only with a more aggressive approach can you get results – because today a tenth or two makes a big difference in the results. That will be our philosophy this year too. We have to put pressure on.

For strategy decisions in Family doctor: “We did a good job this year. Decisions on the pitch were made coolly and there was significant support from the factory. I don’t think I need to intervene. Some decisions that may have seemed wrong from the outside have to do with the fact that we were slow. If you have a good racing pace, everything is easier.”

To tackle Red Bull in 2024

“I believe that the two teams’ performances will continue to converge and therefore it will be difficult for them to repeat their dominance this year. We were close in the last few games. However, you remain in an advantageous position. We’ll have to see how they restart.

Given the economic regime of budget constraints, it is difficult for those who are chasing to close the gap from the top and recover. In Maranello we have the infrastructure and components that are the best of the best. But we also need to invest in the ability to quickly produce new parts for the car that deliver performance οδομέςκαιεξαρτήματαπουείναιτακαλύτερατωνκαλύτερωνΑλλάπρέπειναεπενδύσο υμεκαιστηνικανότηταναπαράγουμεγρήγοραγιατοαυτοκίνητονέαεξαρτήματαπουναα ποδίδουν” [νακλείσουντηδιαφοράαπότηνκορυφήΣτοΜαρανέλοέχουμετιςυποδομέςκαιεξαρτήματαπουείναιτακαλύτερατωνκαλύτερωνΑλλάπρέπειναεπενδύσουμεκαιστηνικανότηταναπαράγουμεγρήγοραγιατοαυτοκίνητονέαεξαρτήματαπουνααποδίδουν”

For Max Verstappen

“Of course, any manager would want him on their team. He will drive for her Ferrari once; He has a multi-year contract and we are not behind on drivers. But in any case: never say never…”