Charles Leclerc believes Frederic Vasseur has brought a positive cultural shift to Ferrari since taking over as the Formula 1 team principal. Frederic Vasseur, who stepped into the role in the start of last season, introduced his straightforward, no-nonsense approach, addressing longstanding criticisms of Ferrari’s underperformance, repeated mistakes, and missed opportunities under former chief Mattia Binotto.
Fred Vasseur’s philosophy was highlighted in a May interview with Motorsport Italy, where he stressed the importance of avoiding complacency, saying, “If you start to be convinced that what you are doing is good, it’s the beginning of the end.”
Charles Leclerc notes that since Frederic Vasseur’s arrival at the Italian side, there has been a noticeable change at Maranello, with mistakes being recognized and addressed more quickly, leading to faster solutions and improved overall results.
“I think people have more responsibilities, are put in a better place to be at their 100% and really have the trust from Fred, which is a really good thing,” Charles Leclerc stated in a recent interview for Motorsport.
“And Fred has always been super good at putting the people in the best possible condition in order for them to perform at their best. So this is really where it changed, and it’s a change of approach.” – the Monegasque driver pointed out.
One clear example is the floor upgrade introduced at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona Grand Prix, which has largely underperformed for Ferrari. The Maranello team has struggled to fully exploit its potential, as the modification unexpectedly triggered issues with bouncing.
“It took us three or four races, but everyone acknowledged what were the weaknesses of what we had brought on the car,” Charles Leclerc continued – “And maybe in the past, it wasn’t as easy as now. So I think we are in a better place in the team.”
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“We’ve done big, big progress in the last seven to eight months before Barcelona – Barcelona has been a one-off. We have been honest with ourselves and understood where we did wrong. And I’m confident that we’ll come back on the good slope.” – the Ferrari man added.
As arguably the most prestigious team in Formula 1, the Italian faces constant pressure, with the Italian media’s relentless scrutiny only adding to the challenge.
“The fact that we are Ferrari in general, whenever something happens at Ferrari, it always creates more of a mess than in any other teams. And this is where we need to be good, that whenever we are in those moments, we just focus on ourselves, try to take the noise away, learn from it and use it positively. But I hope that we don’t have too many of them.” – Charles Leclerc added.
Despite the recent setback of technical director and Italian aerodynamicist Enrico Cardile departing the Maranello team for Aston Martin, Charles Leclerc continues to affirm his confidence in the French manager’s vision for the team’s future.
“On that particular subject, I always had 200% confidence and trust in what Fred does,” he added.
“Obviously Enrico left the team now. I know also that Fred won’t stay [interim] technical director for a very, very long time, and in the meantime, I fully trust Fred to manage the situation in the best possible way. I am fully confident as well that it won’t affect the team at the end. It’s more about the group than one particular person. Of course, it’s a situation that we need to fix as soon as possible. But Fred is on it.” – the Monegasque driver concluded.
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