The head of the Ferrari team, Frederic Vasseur, has outlined his strategy for closing the deficit with Red Bull.

Red Bull has won five of the first seven races of the season, but the Woking-based team McLaren has challenged the lead in the last two rounds, winning in Miami.

Although it looks to be the third-fastest team right now, Ferrari impressed with its pace at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix last time out.

Max Verstappen won the race by just seven seconds over third-place finisher Charles Leclerc.

Vasseur noted that car setup will be a key component around the challenging-to-pass course as Ferrari attempts to win at Monaco for the first time since 2017.

“I think that the competition will be everywhere [during the season],” Vasseur told media 

“The set-up of the car will be crucial next week in Monaco. The performance of the driver will be crucial.”

Faster rate of upgrades

A substantial upgrade package was also brought to Imola by Ferrari in an attempt to maintain its upward trajectory.

Vasseur, however, has stressed that his team must quicken its pace of upgrades in order to stay ahead of the leaders given how closely the field is ranked.

“What is true is that we are at the point now where we will have to speed up the development, because imagine that someone could bring an upgrade one race before when you have three teams in one-tenth you can jump from P5 to P1,” he said.

“It means that we will have to speed up the time.

“We already had a discussion after the race for this, and it will be crucial.

“But we also have to pay attention that we are now chasing the last hundreds. It’s not anymore, an upgrade at five-tenths.

“It means that you also have to be sure that what you are bringing is working. It will be the key factor for the next couple of events.”