In the last few days, the first interviews of Frederic Vasseur as the new team principal of the Prancing Horse are attracting a lot of media interest in Formula 1. Without a shadow of a doubt, the French manager is considered the man that has to lead Scuderia Ferrari to make the next step forward and finally be able to challenge its rivals for the Formula One championships. A very difficult task, given that the attention to detail is most likely what separates victory from defeat.
Although the legacy of the Mattia Binotto management is far from disastrous from a technical point of view, the priorities of Frederic Vasseur’s focus will be precisely those details that in many circumstances prevented Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc from fighting for the title. The first actions noted in the French manager’s notebook will be aimed at identifying potential problematic dynamics within the Formula 1 Racing Division.
One of the most significant passages of the press conference on 26 January concerns the collaborative spirit within the team: “The biggest challenge for any single team in Formula 1, and it doesn’t only apply to Ferrari, is team spirit. This applies to every team, as having good cooperation between the 1,000 people on the team is crucial for Renault, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari. I think my job in the first couple of weeks will be to align everyone and make sure every single person is pushing in the same direction.”
A statement that could imply potential friction between the divisions of the technical area of the Maranello team or simply, perhaps, the need to understand the dynamics of cooperation of the people and then direct them towards the best path.
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Mattia Binotto’s time was marked by a rather strange convergence of several roles: the Italian manager, in addition to holding the role of team principal, was at the same time given the responsibilities of another position: technical director of the Maranello team. A responsibility that for all the main opponents is fulfilled by figures reporting directly to the respective team principals.
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This represents an increase in responsibility that can be pointed out to the technical background gathered by Mattia Binotto during his long experience with Scuderia Ferrari, added to the impossibility of the management to delegate a fundamental role within a Formula 1 team.
Two weeks before the official presentation of the Ferrari 675 car (click here for the technical previews) the box reserved for the future technical director is still empty, despite Fred Vasseur having made it clear that he will delegate this responsibility: “Even if I am an engineer, I will not take this position. It is clear that Enrico Cardile is doing a good job, but he is transversal to the organization and we will keep the same pattern ”.
It is not known whether the words of the former Alfa Romeo are a preview for an imminent investiture or simply a recognition of the Italian engineer’s work as acting in a period of managerial transition. Probably, the handover between Mattia Binotto and Fred Vasseur concerned only the managerial aspects of the Maranello team. While for the technical areas, Enrico Cardile is supporting the Frenchman in getting to know the new team based on a transversal knowledge of the various divisions.
However, the position of technical director could also be held by a figure external to sports management. A solution that could mitigate any conflicts deriving from the climbing of an internal solution to the team. At the end of last year many speculations suggested the return to Ferrari of Simone Resta, a figure of undisputed importance who during the previous administration had been diverted first to Alfa Romeo and then excessively to Haas where he is still director technical.
Ferrari’s technical director box, at the moment, could still be empty awaiting a position still under contract with the competition and therefore subject to a gardening leave period, which is a provision designed to protect teams whose technicians are taken away by the competition.
These are not allowed to have employment relationships with new employers for a minimum period of six months. In this way teams try to avoid knowledge transfer to a rival team. A practice with a symbolic value more than anything else, but which could explain the delay of the Italian team towards the definition of one of the key roles in a modern Formula 1 team.
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