Vasseur fires Mercedes warning: 'We have the momentum'.
Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur has laid down the gauntlet to Mercedes ahead of their season-finale battle for second place in the Constructors'.
20 November 4:00PM
Author Jake Nichol
Co-author Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365

Mercedes heads to Abu Dhabi on 392 points, just four ahead of Ferrari having seen its lead whittled down from 20 in the Las Vegas Grand Prix. It follows a trend of Ferrari gradually eating into Mercedes' lead over recent races, with Mercedes scoring 44 points since the United States GP, with Ferrari on 66 over the same period.

In 2022, Ferrari edged Mercedes in the battle for runner-up behind Red Bull, with boss Vasseur believing the Maranello squad has all the momentum with its SF-23 machine over the W14. "If you consider that we were 60 points them a few races ago, we are on a good path," Vasseur told media including RacingNews365.

"But Abu Dhabi will be a different story, four points is nothing or a lot”;

https://racingnews365.com/vasseur-fi...e-the-momentum


Mercedes ready for Abu Dhabi showdown with Ferrari: ‘Let’s race!’
20/11/2023 at 09:52
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Mercedes and Ferrari are only separated by four points ahead of F1’s season finale next weekend in Abu Dhabi, but Toto Wolff is looking forward to his team’s showdown with the Scuderia. "Lewis got hit twice and George had a mistake. That race summarises our season," rued a frustrated Wolff.

"A quick car that is able to fight for a podium. Lewis was doing [Charles] Leclerc’s times as well in free air. But then obviously he was involved in two accidents, and then George with Max, [so] you can’t win, you can’t be in the front."

Let’s race!’;

https://f1i.com/news/494407-mercedes...lets-race.html


Horner: Ferrari in ‘no man’s land’ with Vegas GP Safety Car
12:09 Mon, 20 Nov 2023.
by Taylor Powling
Motorsport Week

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has sympathised with Ferrari for ending up in “no man’s land” when the Safety Car was deployed during the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur admitted the side didn’t even contemplate pitting Leclerc under the second Safety Car – a decision which Horner could understand.

Asked if Ferrari could have won if they replicated Red Bull’s strategy by stopping under the Safety Car, Horner said: “It’s very difficult for them to, you know, when you look at them, they’d been on the Hard tyre five laps at that point. To stop again for another new tyre after five laps, you can understand they’re a little bit in no man’s land.”

‘Ferrari in no man’s land’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2023/...gp-safety-car/


Leclerc bemoans Las Vegas safety car as he felt ‘the win was ours’
Tuesday 21st November, 2023 - 3:37pm
By Ian Parkes
Speedcafe

Charles Leclerc was left with “mixed emotions” following a Las Vegas Grand Prix in which he felt the introduction of a safety car wrecked his victory bid, only to grab the runner-up spot at the death with a late-race pass on Sergio Perez. Following the race, Leclerc conceded to “mixed emotions”, adding: “On one hand, I’m extremely happy with the performance. We didn’t leave anything on the table. Until the last corner of the last lap, I gave it my all and managed to get that second place.”

“On the other hand, I’m obviously disappointed because I really believe that without the safety car, the win was ours, because we had a really good first stint on the medium and the hard was five laps newer than Max. I had a good four, five laps in order to bring them up to temperature, and we did a really good job on that, so I was really confident the win was ours.”

“But, unfortunately, there was the safety car. Max and Checo stopped and I stayed out on my five-lap used hard, which was not too much, five laps. But the problem is that when they cool down behind a safety car, to then restart a used tyre is incredibly difficult with those temperatures, and there we lost the race. But the last part of the race was extremely fun. That gave me a lot of adrenaline inside the car, and I really enjoyed it.”

‘The win was ours’;

https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/11/21...gp-safety-car/


Perez: Leclerc 'got me back for Turkey 2020' with late overtake
20 November 6:20PM
Author Rory Mitchell
RacingNews365

Sergio Perez joked that Charles Leclerc 'got me back' following the Las Vegas Grand Prix with his final lap overtake. The Mexican managed to achieve his goal set by the team of finishing second in the Drivers' Championship, sealing a historic one-two for Red Bull with his third place, but was passed by Leclerc three corners from home with a lunge at the end of the Strip.

Leclerc pulled nearly 7G in braking deceleration force in the move, with Perez falling from the lead to third over Max Verstappen passed the duo. Perez felt the move was 'payback' over a late move in the low-grip/wet conditions of the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix, and that he did have a chance to win the race.

‘Nearly 7G in braking deceleration force’;

https://racingnews365.com/perez-on-d...om-turkey-2020


Martin Brundle demands F1 rule change in Sky Sports pundit's verdict on unjust penalty
Former Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle was in the United States to watch the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix unfold as part of his role as a pundit for Sky Sports
• 19:22, 20 Nov 2023
By Tom Blow Sports Writer
The Mirror.

Martin Brundle believes Formula 1's stewards should be allowed to use their common sense after Carlos Sainz was handed a 10-place penalty at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Sainz was punished after a loose metal cover on the track surface smashed into the floor of his Ferrari during a practice session on Friday. The freak incident caused significant damage to the car's engine, energy store, control electronics and survival cell.

Ferrari were forced to change the energy store, but that wasn't permitted. Considering the damage was the result of a track error, Ferrari asked for a derogation of the sporting regulations. Yet the stewarding panel insisted these regulations "must be applied".

Sainz was understandably furious with the panel's decision, with Ferrari's team chief Fred Vasseur calling it "unacceptable". Brundle has plenty of sympathy and believes F1's rules must be changed to allow common sense to be used when applicable.

‘Formula 1's stewards should be allowed to use their common sense’;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...rrari-31486796