Since his appointment ahead of the 2023 season, Frederic Vasseur has brought drastic changes to Ferrari. He’s almost completely changed the backroom staff and brought on key personnel. However, more than these changes, his attitude toward the people makes him the team’s backbone. Charles Leclerc revealed this on his recent F1: Beyond the Grid podcast appearance. He also shared how Vasseur’s extremely calm and composed demeanor is vital for Ferrari.
He said, “He’s always acting a bit like a balance in the team which is needed in a team like Ferrari. Whenever you’re having a very good race with Ferrari, everybody feels so good, so happy. Fred is always the balance. Exactly the same in bad moments when everybody feels down Fred is always there to give us the positive in a difficult situation to remotivate everybody. He’s very emotionally flat. That is a really good thing for a team like Ferrari.”
This is exactly what the Italian team is experiencing currently. After an incredible start and two wins, Ferrari is in a slump. Their upgrades did not work as expected and now the SF-24 is the fourth fastest car on the grid. However, the team is not spiraling out of control. They’re taking their time to understand what went wrong and to rectify the mistakes.
This is all thanks to the calmness brought by the boss Frederic Vassuer, as per Leclerc’s understanding. The Frenchman has had a big impact on the team and it’s evident to the entire F1 world.
Leclerc confesses Ferrari has changed under Vasseur
Vasseur in a previous episode of Beyond the Grid admitted he wanted to change the culture at Ferrari. Who better to comment on the change than the driver who’s been part of the team since 2019? The Frenchman is Leclerc’s second boss and he’s seeing the change as promised by the boss.
He revealed, “It’s quite a lot different. Ferrari is such a huge team with so much history that it’s not the easiest of tasks to do something like this. I think there are some core values of Ferrari that will never change. I think Fred has changed quite a few things which made a really big difference.”
The first thing Leclerc mentions is Vasseur’s desire to try and understand everyone working for Ferrari. This interpersonal relationship is helping him extract the most out of every individual. If he continues to do so, the team will surely taste success. However, it would need to be sooner rather than later as Tifosi are not a patient bunch.
