Despite a very disappointing start to the 2023 Formula One championship for Scuderia Ferrari since Frederic Vasseur took over as team principal from Mattia Binotto in January, Charles Leclerc still has confidence in the French manager, which has worked with the Monegasque also in the past, during Charles Formula 1 debut year at Sauber.
The Maranello team had high hopes of competing with Red Bull for the drivers and constructors championship this year, but the Austrian side has once again proven to be too dominant, having already built an insurmountable lead after just five races out of the 23 planned this year. Scuderia Ferrari has even fallen to fourth place in the constructors standings, behind Aston Martin and Mercedes, and has only achieved one podium finish so far this season, with Charles Leclerc finishing third at the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan. Nevertheless, the Monegasque remains committed to Frederic Vasseur, who has experience as a former team boss in Formula 2.
“He’s just starting this process,” – the Ferrari driver recently explained in an interview for the official Formula1.com website. “Until now he was basically trying to analyse the situation as quickly as possible in order to do the best changes possible for the future. Obviously I speak a lot with Fréd and I know what are his middle and long term plans for the team, and I’m completely behind him and I trust him fully,” he continued. “The big part of the job will be done from now on, so we will see.” – the Monegasque driver added.
“I’m sure these are the right choices, and it goes in the right direction for the team,” he insisted. “So for that, I’m looking forward to it, but let’s wait and see.” – Charles Leclerc continued.
The Monegasque driver had to settle for seven place at the Miami International Autodrome in Florida, USA while his Maranello team mate Carlos Sainz was fifth, as both Ferrari mand had to deal with the handling problems of the SF-23 single-seater and inconsistencies between different tyre compounds in the Miami Gand Prix.
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Now the focus shifts to the sixth round of the 2023 Formula 1 season, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place next weekend at the 4.909-kilometre Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, commonly known as Imola. This will in fact be a home race for Scuderia Ferrari and the first time Frederic Vasseur will be leading the team in front of the Tifosi. The French manager will be hoping to reward the Ferrari fans with a positive performance, as the Italian side will bring a major upgrade package at Imola and Charles is confident things will improve:
“We will have updates, but honestly the issue is not the potential of the car,” the Monegasque driver pointed out, as he looked to downplay expectations despite the upcoming SF-23 upgrades – “I think that when we are putting together everything we are there. It is more on the exploitation on the tools that we have, rather than the updates,’ he suggested. “For sure we will bring updates, but it’s not the issue.” – Charles Leclerc concluded.
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