Ferrari's 30 hp gain for 2023 F1 season is 'just a joke', says team principal Fred Vasseur

Ferrari and other engine manufacturers in F1 will not be allowed to make any major changes to their power units until 2026. Hence, teams try to improve other components connected to the power unit to increase the performance and reliability of the car.

It was recently reported that the Italian outfit was able to extract around 15 bhp more power from its cars by the end of the 2022 F1 season. Furthermore, it is rumored that its 2023 challenger will have 30 bhp more power. However, Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari's newest team principal, debunked the rumored numbers, saying:

"I don't know where the numbers are coming from, but it's just a joke. We made some step but it's just about reliability. I think the performance last year of the engine was not an issue at all. The issue was the reliability and the first target is to fix it."

Vasseur further dove deep into how Ferrari is trying to improve the reliability of the 2023 car and will retain the same amount of performance as last year. He also spoke about how other teams will also suffer from various kinds of issues when the cars are tested on track. He said:

"So far it looks okay. But the reality of the track is a different aspect. I think there were a couple of issues that teams suffered from, and it's not just true for Ferrari. It's coming from the track operation, bouncing and vibration, and everybody will have a much better picture in Bahrain in a bit more than two weeks' time."

It is no secret that engine manufacturers and teams constantly try their level best to run their power units as efficiently as possible. We've seen teams gradually increase the horsepower of their cars during power unit freeze phases. Though Vasseur casually brushed off the numbers that were rumored, there may be a small chance that the power increase might be true.

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Frederic Vasseur reveals his conversation with Ferrari's former team boss

Frederic Vasseur recently described his move to Ferrari and his one-on-one conversation with Mattia Binotto.

As reported by The Race, Vasseur explained how the process of changing the team principal at Ferrari was clear and quick. He also appreciated Mattia Binotto for being extremely cooperative in the process and revealed how both had a private conversation about the move as well. He said:

"The process was crystal clear, even if we had some rumors in the press before Abu Dhabi or during Abu Dhabi, we didn’t discuss before. We had the first discussion the week after Abu Dhabi and it was very, very quick as a process. And then I had a call with Mattia, and I even met Mattia during the handover and we had a one-to-one discussion."

Vasseur further added:

"It was thanks to Mattia for this because I appreciated the move from Mattia to stay, to wait for me, to discuss together, [it] was really appreciated from my side."

The scarlet team struggled a lot during the 2022 F1 season. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were unable to perform and finish races in good positions due to strategic mishaps and confusion created by the team. Hence, Ferrari decided to part ways with Mattia Binotto and start afresh with a new team principal.