Dutch racing driver, currently competing in the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship, Giedo van der Garde, feels Frederic Vasseur is the right man to bring Scuderia Ferrari back on top, as the Italian side look to mount a challenge against Red Bull and Mercedes in the 2023 Formula 1 championship.
Former team boss Mattia Binotto is leaving Scuderia Ferrari at the end of 2022 after 28 years of working in Maranello, having covered the role of Team Principal in the last four years. His departure is the result of a combination of operational mistakes, wrong strategy decisions and power unit technical failures, which led to Ferrari’s title challenge to fall apart from the early stages of the championship.
Ferrari chairman John Elkann and chief executive officer Benedetto Vigna wanted a change at the top of the Formula 1 Racing Division and speculation soon emerged that Fred Vasseur would replace Mattia Binotto starting from 2023, with the information officially confirmed a few weeks ago:
While the official version is that Mattia Binotto handed in his resignation, former Formula 1 driver Giedo Van der Garde feels he was most likely forced to make such a decision, but at the same time pointed out that this is the best solution for the Maranello team:
“I think they gave him a choice: either we say we’ve thrown you out, or we do it in a nice way and you say you’ve resigned yourself,” Giedo Van der Garde said in an interview for Motorsport – “And so it ended up being the second one. But it was clear that he had to leave. He is a very nice guy and has built a very good car, but Ferrari did throw away some wins this year. And whichever way you look at it, he was responsible for that as team boss.” – he added.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
The Dutch racing driver has experience of working under the leadership of Frederic Vasseur from his junior racing period, as the French manager co-founded the ART Grand Prix team. The ex-Formula 1 driver is therefore well aware of how stern and to the point Fred Vasseur can be, which should help the Italian side make a further step forward this season. He feels that Alfa Romeo’s 2022 championship shows Fred Vasseur has the ability to lead his teams, with Alfa taking sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship after leading the midfield pack in the earlier races of the season:
“Vasseur put the right people in the right place there. He is a true leader and will be able to take Ferrari to new heights. He’s someone who can bang his fist on the table and doesn’t like bullsh*t. He can be tough. That is why I really think he is the right man for Ferrari. He always tells it like it is. He does not play political games, but is straightforward. If someone is not functioning well, he can be very rigorous and say: either you will do better, or you will be replaced by someone else. He always goes for the best possible performance. And as a Ferrari team boss you have to project that. Binotto is very professional and has done some really good things at Ferrari in recent years, but it’s also about winning mentality, and that is much more present with Vasseur. A culture change must take place at Ferrari in that respect. The team needs to believe in itself again, they have two good drivers, a good car and now also a good team boss. They should now be able to score many more victories. Whether they can beat Max Verstappen is another thing, but they should have won more last year and fought for the championship much longer. With Vasseur at the helm, things would have gone much better.” – the Dutch racing driver continued.
“He has to look at the whole team. They weren’t strong strategically last year, of course. Although they have a good guy for that [Iñaki Rueda], they really fell short in that area, that’s something Vasseur needs to look at. But also how the communication goes between the engineers and the drivers, how the team is structured and what the culture is like within the team. Vasseur will therefore have to look at the complete picture, address the points that did not go well last season and, just like with Alfa, put the right people in the right place. That will take some time, but give him that time.” – Giedo van der Garde concluded.
Leave a Reply