Ferrari has messed up again in Formula 1 and team principal Frederic Vasseur knows it. It has done so for the fourth weekend in a row if we consider the disastrous performance at the Montreal circuit in Canada. The “triple header” that concluded last weekend with the twelfth round at the historic Silverstone track rightfully enters the annals of the top category as yet another blunder for the Italian side. The conclusion of a nightmare cycle of races for Ferrari, marking a worrying regression of the SF-24 which became evident at the Silverstone circuit.
It happened when the engineers from Maranello decided to compare the two specifications of the car, pre and post update that debuted at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. The choice to return to the post-Imola version certified a clear and obvious fact. The development for the 676 project introduced in Spain, at least for the moment, guarantees greater driving stability. However, the characteristics of the red car did not suit the layout of the English circuit, a mix of various types of corners where achieving the aero-mechanical compromise is fundamental.
The track can be defined as a very effective scenario to verify the progress of the cars. That’s why, analyzing the situation with a broad view, it doesn’t seem so absurd to affirm that, without a shadow of a doubt, at this stage of the F1 world championship, the performance curve of the SF-24 seems to be descending. A really bad sign, considering that there are still several races on the calendar and there is a sense of just wanting the season to end as soon as possible.
In the post-race, as has been happening for a few F1 rounds now, the team principal of the Prancing Horse seems not to make a drama, remains calm and tries to explain how things went. According to the French executive, therefore, uninstalling the latest version of updates from both cars is not a drama at all. We are only talking about a necessary action on a track with adverse characteristics compared to the latest specification.
It’s like comparing the updated version from Spain to software that works well only on certain types of operating systems, while on others it just can’t make a difference, in fact worsening things. A paradox that masks the technical disorientation compared to the on-track results which, clearly, in the last three weeks, do not correspond at all to the simulations carried out inside the factory. The carefree attitude of the head of the Ferrari Racing Division is seen as quite disrespectful by some fans considering the most serious technical crisis of his mandate.
Charles Leclerc at the end of the British Grand Prix stopped adhering to the communicative strategy of the historic Italian team, and there was nothing his media communications manager could do in the face of the Monegasque driver’s ire, expressed bluntly in front of journalists’ microphones from all over the world. The Ferrari boss does not lose his serene calm. Without a doubt, it’s a good thing, but the race analysis seems distorted, full of “ifs” and “buts” that Ferrari fans around the world have been listening to resignedly for at least three decades.
To tell the truth, Frederic Vasseur almost seems like a guest on the pit wall. In past years, we have been used to observing Toto Wolff’s approach when it was necessary to communicate with the drivers. The same can be said in the past of other team principals of the same Ferrari team. We don’t recall a team radio from the Frenchman to the drivers in a year and a half of races. Whether it is a compliment, a warning, or an apology to the drivers. By his nature, the French manager delegates responsibilities, which is fine only if one has total control of the situation.
However, when a critical issue arises, the leader should respond “present.” Frederic Vasseur on the pit wall seems like a spectator, a sort of observer of his men’s work. For example, when there was still a great idyll between Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton, the Austrian manager did not hesitate to apologize live on worldwide television for providing him with a “shitbox”, as was the case in Baku 2022. Christian Horner often intervened in the dialogues between the pit box and Max Verstappen and made an impression, and even Mattia Binotto was able to cool Charles Leclerc’s anger in Singapore 2019 and Turkey 2020.
This is truly the first year of the Frenchman’s mandate, and for this simple reason, any type of evaluation should be made at the end of the 2024 Formula 1 championship. However, current events require us to highlight the matter quite clearly and analyze one of the worst weekends for Ferrari from all points of view. Resilience is certainly not lacking in Fred Vasseur. As the smart man he is, the head of Ferrari will certainly have understood that Ferrari is not just any Formula 1 team but a legendary entity that dispenses emotions. A serious thing, in short.
Source: FUnoanalisitecnica
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