Ferrari deny failed F1 mid-season upgrade will cost them title in 2024

Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur has dismissed that their unsuccessful upgrade at the F1 Spanish Grand Prix will ultimately cost them the constructors’ championship.

Heading into the final two rounds, Ferrari are just 24 points behind McLaren in the race for the constructors’ title.

However, McLaren remain the heavy favourite given their high-speed advantage over Ferrari.

This weekend’s Losail International Circuit is made up of just medium and high-speed corners.

After a strong start to the campaign, Ferrari’s form dipped in the middle part of the season with an upgrade in Spain proving to be disastrous.

This curtailed their season as the porpoising phenomenon returned.

It wasn’t until after the summer break where Ferrari were back at the front, with their form putting them in title contention.

When asked whether the Spain upgrade will ultimately be the reason for their F1 title defeat, Vasseur replied: “This is an easy one, that it is always easy at the end of the season to say without the crash in Singapore  or without this or without that, we would have been champion.

“I think this is true for McLaren, they've also had some issues, it is true for everybody on the grid, we have all missed opportunities.

“Part of the business is not only to have the best car, but also to score the maximum number of points we can score over the season.

“It is true that Baku was not the best one, nor was Singapore, and we struggled in terms of pure performance in Spain, the UK and Austria, but the reaction was good because after three races, we were back on the pace at Spa, but it is true that in terms of pure performance, this was the weak point.”

In terms of the drivers’ championship, Charles Leclerc is in a close fight with Lando Norris to secure P2 behind Max Verstappen.

Heading into Qatar, just 21 points separate the pair for second-place in the standings.