Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur has argued the Scuderia has the second-fastest car in Formula 1 despite languishing in fourth in the constructors” championship.

The Italian marque has 201 points to its name, 14 fewer than Aston Martin, which usurped it at the Dutch Grand Prix courtesy of Fernando Alonso finishing second.

Ferrari has enjoyed just three podiums throughout the 2023 season thus far, which has taken in 13 of 22 events.

Aston Martin proved stronger in the opening races, while more latterly Mercedes and McLaren also showed enough pace to challenge Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz for strong points-paying results.

The upturn in performance from those teams has prompted questions, notably why Ferrari hasn’t been able to make similar gains.

“But [in Zandvoort] we finished in front of McLaren,” Vasseur argued.

“I think you are a bit harsh in the judgement in the question. We are still P2 in terms of pure lap time in quali.

“For sure, it’s more difficult to improve when you are Mercedes, McLaren, or Ferrari than when you are Williams coming from P10.

“They are making good steps forward, and congratulations to them, but we have to improve for sure, and we are working like hell.

“We are making some small steps, and I hope that we’ll have a better step in Monza in terms of performance.”

The 2023 Ferrari has been troublesome, prone to inconsistencies and hard on its tyres.

It’s made getting on top of it difficult, with drivers reporting wildly different experiences, often contradicting one another.

Underpinning that has been an imbalance, coupled with a narrow operating window and a sensitivity to the wind that amplifies the car’s weaknesses.

Some of those have been ironed out, but not all, which is a concern as teams begin to shift focus to next year’s design.

“I don’t want to speak about the next year car; that for sure is a different project,” Vasseur said.

“It’s a different project for everybody.

“We are all trying to extract the best from the regulations and to do a step forward.

“We have still eight or nine races to go, and we have some upgrades to come in the next couple of races.

“Next year’s project is different, but we are keeping these for the factory.”