Fred Vasseur Admits Dismay Over Ferrari’s Third Place Finish in 2023 – “Don’t Need Vigna or Elkann to Tell Me”

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has admitted that he is “not happy” with the way the 2023 season panned out for his side. The Frenchman stated that he does not need his bosses to tell him that a third-place finish in the championship is not good enough for a team of Ferrari’s stature.

In an exclusive interview with Motorsport Italy, Vasseur highlighted how he didn’t wait till the year-end to discuss Ferrari’s performance with the brand’s CEO Benedetto Vigna and Executive Chairman John Elkann. Vasseur stated, “Ferrari’s advantage is that we have daily discussions. Nobody can be happy with what we did at the start of the season.”

The 55-year-old summarized all the problems the Prancing Horse faced over the course of the 2023 season. The French boss said, “But obviously we are not happy. I am the first to not be happy and I don’t need Mr. Vigna or Mr. Elkann to tell me that I shouldn’t be happy and happy with third position. This is clear.”

Vasseur then added that he is happy with the recovery of the team in the latter part of the season. However, he made it clear that the result was below his expectations for the Maranello outfit. Even Benedetto Vigna had stated that finishing second is essentially being the loser.

Meanwhile, Elkann has been visiting the Italian team’s garage often in the last two years. While he is not delighted with the slip-ups, it shows a hands-on approach from the Maranello top management. The former Alfa Romeo boss also understands this and is aligned with Vigna and Elkann’s vision for Ferrari.

What does Fred Vasseur think about Ferrari’s progress and chances for 2024?

The initial part of the 2023 season would be a memory that Fred Vasseur and the rest of Ferrari would love to erase. The Ferrari boss cited that his side had a lot to learn from those early failures and grew as a decent force in the latter half. The improvement in performance of the SF23 underscores their growth and learning.

Vasseur highlighted that he was happy with the way Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz used the improved pace to fight Max Verstappen more often in qualifying. It resulted in multiple pole positions for the Italian outfit.

Moreover, even when it came to race pace, Ferrari were at par with the likes of McLaren and Mercedes. It is for this reason that Ferrari were able to take the battle for P2 with the Silver Arrows down to the wire in Abu Dhabi despite having a sluggish start to the season.

While the Maranello outfit may have lost the battle against Mercedes, they still won a strategic consolation in P3, with additional wind tunnel time. This may prove beneficial for Ferrari in their development of the 2024 challenger.

Speaking about the 2024 car, Vasseur has cited that they “will change 95% of the components” on the new car. The Frenchman highlighted that while it won’t be a revolution, it is still a different concept. Ferrari is looking to unveil its 2024 challenger on February 13.