Leo Turrini: "Someone tell Fred Vasseur that Jean Todt never laughed"

Six races, ninety points, only one podium: Scuderia Ferrari’s haul in the beginning of the 2023 Formula 1 season can be widely considered below expectations. The latest disappointment came last weekend on the streets of Monte Carlo in Monaco, where the red cars crossed the finish line in sixth and eighth positions. In Spain, the updates that were supposed to debut in Imola will finally arrive. These updates will reveal the mood of the Ferrari F1 team for the rest of the 2023 championship.

Meanwhile, the Prancing Horse analyzes, making an effort to defend the performance offered in the Principality. This is done through the words of their team principal, as reported by Leo Turrini on quotidiano.net in an article titled “Someone tell Vasseur that Todt never laughed.”

Turrini – Vasseur, the provocation and the reply

“Just to be clear. I really like Fred Vasseur. He calls me Jack Nicholson when we see each other. I reply that he reminds me of Jean Gabin. These are references that hark back to the history of cinema,” Leo Turrini begins with his usual sarcastic and creative vein. “After that, a plea. If someone can, please remind the joyful Fred that another Frenchman, Jean Todt, never laughed,” adds the journalist, gently jabbing at Ferrari’s new team principal, often compared to the one who led the Prancing Horse’s resurgence in the late ’90s and early 2000s.

Later, Turrini summarizes (in his own words) the conversation he had with the French manager, inserting his own comment alongside each statement.

“I don’t agree with the overly harsh judgment of our performance in Monte Carlo. The real mistake was made on Saturday when we didn’t warn Charles Leclerc that Lando Norris was coming. That cost Charles three grid positions. I apologized to him, just as he apologizes to us when he makes a mistake. In the race, we took a risk, but it was justified…” says Fred Vasseur. Turrini comments: “Partly true, it’s not like Carlos Sainz had been particularly brilliant in qualifying.”

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“It’s not true that now we’re slower than Alpine Renault. Esteban Ocon was ahead of Carlos Sainz only because you can’t overtake in Monaco. Remember that Charles Leclerc would have started third. And as for the boring race, I suggested to Prince Albert to move the Grand Prix to the highway…” – said the Ferrari boss. Leo Turrini comments: “I’m not so sure that from the Ventimiglia tollbooth down, Carlos Sainz would have passed Ocon.”

“I would like to point out that on Saturday, Charles Leclerc was one-tenth off pole position. This means, once again, that we are there in terms of raw performance. We need to make the car consistent in race pace, we keep working on it…” Leo Turrini also comments on that last statement of Fred Vasseur: “But wasn’t it already like that in the first race of the 2023 season?”

“We won’t do what Mercedes is doing, starting from scratch with the car. We have our own philosophy, we bring updates every time, and it will be the same next weekend in Barcelona…” Leo Turrini comments: “And what if Mercedes is right?”

“It’s not true that I told Horner, the Red Bull boss, that if he wants Laurent Mekies immediately at Alpha Tauri, he has to release technicians that we are interested in. It doesn’t work like that. In Formula 1, engineers or managers have always changed teams, it applies to us as well as others.” Leo Turrini comments: “Mmmmm…”

“I will never talk about what happened in Maranello before my time. My task is to make every area of the racing department competitive. I mentioned the mistake made on Saturday, evidently there is something to fix. But, for example, the team is perfect in executing pit stops…” Leo Turrini comments: “I can agree with that.”

“Starting from Barcelona, with the modifications we will bring, I expect to always see the car in the fight for pole position. Then, when we have solved the consistency issues in race pace, we will fight to win the Grands Prix…” Leo Turrini concludes, quoting a play by Samuel Beckett: “Waiting for Godot.”