After being the only team to put Red Bull under pressure in 2022, there was optimism in the Ferrari camp that it would be able to draw level and fight for the title.
But the Scuderia received a blow at the start of 2023 when it turned up with a car in Bahrain testing that fell short of those expectations and struggled on race pace, especially on hot, high-downforce circuits.
And, while team principal Vasseur thinks the team can take courage from how it stabilised its performance across different circuit types in the latter part of the year, in which it was the only team to keep Red Bull from a clean sweep of 22 race wins, he warns against a repeat of its 2023 optimism.
"For sure, I think the level of expectation was a bit too high at the beginning of the season," Vasseur said.
"We understood quickly the situation after a couple of laps in Bahrain and even a couple of laps into the simulator before Bahrain.
"But what I would keep in mind this season is the reaction of the team. We had a tough moment but remember after Jeddah, Miami, Spain or Zandvoort, Zandvoort is not so far away and we were almost lapped.
"I think that we, compared to Zandvoort, collectively made a huge step forward and this is good for the future. It's on this progression that we can build for next year."
Source: Autosport