Frederic Vasseur granted an interview to SkySport conducted by Carlo Vanzini on the eve of the 2024 Formula 1 season, a crucial year for Ferrari and, of course, for the team principal of the Scuderia. For Fred Vasseur, it will be the first season without a safety net.
“I will be satisfied if, at the end of the season, the team has achieved more than in 2023,” but that ‘more’ cannot be just ‘a little more.’
Twelve months after his arrival in Maranello, Fred Vasseur is more in control of the situation. “The level of expectations last year was very, very high – he confessed – but even before going to Bahrain, we saw in the early sessions in the simulator that it would be more challenging than expected.” – the Ferrari boss admitted.
“Today the situation is different – he continued – we started a long project ten months ago, with drivers fully involved in following the development. I don’t know if it will be enough in terms of lap time (to bother Red Bull); we will get a first idea with the Friday qualifying standings in Bahrain. But the most important thing is the ongoing process to improve many aspects, step by step, without drawing conclusions and without having too many expectations. I have the feeling that we are progressing; I don’t know yet if we are doing it rapidly enough, but we are moving in the right direction.” – the Frenchman pointed out.
The team principal of the Scuderia did not want to shift the focus to the big announcement at the beginning of the year, namely Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. But there was a small exception to the rule: “I think, in the end, it was a rather natural decision (for Hamilton), even though he was part of the McLaren family and later the Mercedes family for a long time, I think he always knew where he would like to end his journey, at some point he had to come to Maranello. On our part, it absolutely makes sense to have a driver with such extensive experience and such a prestigious track record; I believe he can also be a reference point for the team’s development in the long term.”
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For Fred Vasseur, there will be no repercussions on Charles Leclerc’s morale, who in twelve months will have the most successful driver in the history of F1 by his side.
“I believe Charles is a smart guy – he clarified – he understood immediately what he will have to gain and what he can learn from this collaboration, and he sees it as an opportunity.”
A final note concerns the decision not to disclose the duration of the contracts, both in the case of Charles Leclerc and in that of Lewis Hamilton: “We decided this simply not to provide information that can be useful to other teams.” – the Ferrari team principal concluded.
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