Scuderia Ferrari is the most famous Formula 1 team, therefore also the one that has to undergo the most pressure, whether it comes directly from the inside or from external environments. Any result other than victory is always met with dissatisfaction. This has always been the case throughout history. It is no coincidence that the unsatisfactory start to the 2023 Formula One world championship, with a retirement for Charles Leclerc in Bahrain and a fourth place for Carlos Sainz, light years away from both Red Bull cars, generated criticism towards the Maranello team.
On the other hand, the new Team Principal, Frédéric Vasseur, had set some very important objectives for this season, namely “winning both titles”. He states this target it at the presentation of the SF-23 car one months ago. Clearly it was an expected comment, something normal after a 2022 F1 season marked by many pole positions and a second place finish in the Drivers and Constructors’ championship.
However, the track is then transparent and immediately attracts criticism if what is expressed does not correspond to reality. Benedetto Vigna knows this very well after that famous phrase “the SF-23 will be a car that will have no precedent in terms of speed”, after learning from its technicians of the excellent speed qualities shown in the 2023 simulator. However, it is difficult to expect a Ferrari car capable of becoming world champion this year, following a first race in which Charles Leclerc was almost one second per lap slower than the RB19 before his technical failure. And above all because some problems are emerging in Maranello, partly expected, others certainly unexpected.
The start of the 2023 Formula One campaign was indeed very disappointing, even if Fred Vasseur tried to find positive aspects as well. “Now we have a clearer view of the situation. We know where to intervene”. To try to keep the team together, the French manager organized a day in Maranello with the drivers and the whole team, as clearly demonstrated (not surprisingly) by the photos posted on Ferrari’s social media accounts.
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This was an opportunity also to say goodbye to David Sanchez, now ex Head of Vehicle Concept, who recently resigned and is negotiating the exit details with the Scuderia management, before most likely joining McLaren. A move that makes things even more difficult for Fred Vasseur, but one which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given the many offers received by David Sanchez from various teams.
After Mattia Binotto’s exit, there were concrete possibilities that some key technical figures in his management could also decide to leave. David Sanchez was one of them, one of his trusted men. Losing the Head of Vehicle Concept means losing the person who had the task of deciding in which technical direction to go with the development of the car. In short, that figure who in about a month should have indicated the guidelines of Ferrari’s 2024 challenger to the various departments. A departure that Ferrari does not seem to intend to replace with an external top engineer.
A technical restructuring based more on the ideas of Frederic Vasseur was expected. However, the handover between Mattia Binotto and Frédéric Vasseur, by the will of the Frenchman, was very soft, as he also wanting to count on the men chosen by the Italian manager during his time at the top of the Ferrari Racing Division, as explained by as explained by F1 experts Piergiuseppe Donadoni, Paolo D’Alessandro and Giuliano Duchessa for formu1a.uno.
The two were seen chatting near the Maranello headquarter gates during the days of the SF-23 presentation. The Italian-Swiss engineer had personal commitments with the company for which he worked for over 20 years, but he did not refuse to exchange a few words with those who now sit in his place. The contacts between the two, however, did not stop there, on the contrary. Fred Vasseur and Mattia Binotto talk more often than one might think, with the former Alfa Romeo man benefiting from Mattia Binotto’s advice and opinion, as well as a more in-depth view of what his plans are in view of this reorganization that Mattia Binotto also himself built since 2019.
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