For Frederic Vasseur, the post of Ferrari team boss is the culmination of his career in motorsport. After the fiasco in the opening race of Formula 1, the pressure is immense. Ferrari knows only one goal.
After the sobering start to the Formula 1 season, the new Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur (54) identified the reliability of the car as a weak point.
“It’s important to get a clear picture of the situation. The biggest problem for me is reliability, we’re too weak there,” criticized the Frenchman after the first Grand Prix of the year in Bahrain. In addition, the racing team had to get the strong wear and tear of the tires under control. “I already told the team before the tests in Bahrain two weeks ago that the championship in Bahrain will not be over,” continued Vasseur. You have to “analyze the race correctly and show a stronger reaction”.
Vice world champion Charles Leclerc retired on Sunday in third place after an engine failure in the final phase of the race. Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz ended up in fourth place with a huge gap to Red Bull winner Max Verstappen. In contrast to Red Bull and the surprisingly strong Aston Martin team, the Scuderia takes a different approach to aerodynamics, but they want to stick to the concept.
Vasseur’s goal: lead Ferrari to the world title
Earlier this year, Vasseur took over from Mattia Binotto as team boss at the traditional racing team. He had previously worked for Alfa Romeo. “There’s definitely more emotion and passion at Ferrari,” said Vasseur ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix. “But at the end of the day, all teams are similar in that they have the same DNA. It’s about technique, performance and continuous improvement.”
Vasseur finally wants to lead Ferrari to the world title again. The last drivers’ world champion was Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, and a year later the Italians were constructors’ champions for the last time. For the French, the Ferrari job is the crowning glory of his career, despite the pressure. “As a tennis player, you want to play at Wimbledon. I think if you do your job in Formula 1, you want to work for Ferrari at some point,” said Vasseur. (dpa)