There's no doubt about it, there Team he is climbing back up with determination, respecting the promise made to the fans that he wants to return to fighting for the positions that count. The redhead leaves Monaco with some more certainty. First of all the security of having one of the most solid pairs of drivers, with one of these, Charles Leclerc, strong in having defeated the curse which has hampered him the most in recent years. The road to getting the upper hand on the Red Bull-McLaren axis is arduous, but if the team principal's work continues along this line there is no doubt that there will be some satisfaction in Maranello. Immediately after the Monaco weekend, Vasseur spoke about the situation to various media outlets including Sky, below are his words on the objectives for the next races and the Ferrari update plan.
The hard work to ride the wave
Ferrari's season started well, and the consistency of the results bears witness to this. After 8 races there are two victories, and the distance from first place in the constructors' standings amounts to just 24 points. Of course, the world championship is long, but with Perez in difficulty and a McLaren close by, it's not forbidden to dream. The way the team works has definitely changed compared to the past, and you don't need to be inside the garage to find out. Strategic debacles have become very rare, and communication between the pilots and the wall seems much more secure.
The impression is that the team is managing to capitalize on the positive trend, while remaining with its feet on the ground. Perhaps this is precisely what the management lacked binotto: the ability to keep enthusiasm in check. If there's anyone to give credit to, it's it Fred vasseur, who put one brick after another – also thanks to John opening the taps Elkann - he is building a team capable of looking to the long term with confidence, and no longer with anguish.
A team result
“Everyone in the company plays a role – says Vasseur. The performance comes from everyone in terms of production, quality. Each team member is a distinctive element of the performance. I told them that the results are theirs too, when these are not good and when these are successful. victory is the result of their work and they are the creators of this success more than anyone else."
Elkann was obviously present in Munich, and Vasseur underlined the fact that he shares the same point of view and the same objectives with the president and with the entire company. “Elkann was on the podium, much more than happy, very enthusiastic about the situation – said Vasseur. He gave a very positive feedback: we were all happy. The goal is clear: for me it's more a question of approach than setting a goal like being P1, P4, P6 or something else. LThe goal for me is to improve in every single area, on the strategy, on the pit stop, in the garage, on the development, on the production of the individual areas, we have to push a little more in the race and the mindset is one, then the results will come. The goal is to see this type of mentality and dynamism. It's not that I want to hide anything - it's really my way of thinking and that of everyone in the company. Then the results will come."
Vasseur's words on fighting for the world championship
Charles Leclerc's victory in Monaco not only improved the Monegasque's account with his home race but also confirmed the RB20's greater vulnerability, especially on curbs. Miami, Imola, Monaco. In these last three races of the season the music seems to have changed. Red Bull doesn't seem as unbeatable as everyone professed at the beginning of the season and this is mainly thanks to the growth of the other two teams who, with the updates, have returned to just a few tenths of a second behind Red Bull, i.e. McLaren and Ferrari. Many have defined Monaco as the turning point of the season. That is, the turning point, especially from a global manufacturer perspective. However, Vasseur believes that the season is still long and he prefers to leave aside for now the talk of the Constructors' Championship. Title that Maranello has been missing since 2008.
"It would be a mistake to think too much about the future long-term. We have a really exciting championship with some teams battling it out and with 5/6 drivers fighting for pole position. We know that from one GP to the next you can go from P1 to P6. As happened to Verstappen last weekend. Strategically speaking, I think it's a mistake to think about the end of the championship. We need to stay focused and think about the next race in Canada, about the updates – points out Ferrari team principal Vasseur – about getting the best from what we have and doing a good job. In the end we'll see how it goes. I prefer to focus on Canada."
“However, I believe that the victory in Monaco can help Charles to have more confidence in himself. Why he had been waiting for victory in Monaco for many years and went a year and a half without winning a race. I don't know if it will be a turning point, but it is a big step forward. Now we don't have to change the approach because we achieved good results in Melbourne and Monaco. I want everyone to row in the same direction because even if we are achieving good results it doesn't mean we will be world champions."
What has changed in Ferrari, the lessons of last season
Frederic Vasseur is in his second year at Ferrari. However, this is the first real opportunity that the team principal has to show the changes compared to previous years. The first year in which we begin to see the fruits of a work begun last season. Ferrari in fact thought about its limits, and one of these concerned the fact of having a car aimed primarily at qualifying. However, this year the trend has reversed.
“We are much more focused on preparing for the race and even in doing long stints during FP1 we are much more focused on the GP approach from the start. Obviously this can be to the detriment of qualifying preparation and we have changed the focus a bit to dedicate ourselves more to the race, but it's not a change of mentality, but rather a change due to the consequences of last year's reports."
Vasseur and future updates at Ferrari
One of the issues raised by the media and taken up by Vasseur concerns the next updates at Ferrari, recalling that the team introduced the first innovations in Imola. The Imola updates were already planned by Ferrari, who will now have to take the next step, as Vasseur says. “We brought the last package last week. It's too much soon to talk about future updates. We're definitely working on them and will bring them as soon as possible, though we have to do it for a good reason and we are doing it step by step. I don't know if it will be before or after England, but it will be soon. We try".
"With the budget cap you need to find a balance. Developments are brought when there is something to bring. Performance is converging, so the pace of development is much slower. Every time there is a development the earnings are lower than they were two years ago. Furthermore, the consequences of each update on tuning are gaining more and more importance. The arrival of new parts also depends on the sequence of races. In Sprint events for example it is difficult to work on the set-up in a single testing session. Updates depend not only on production, but also on the characteristics of the tracks and this dictates the pace of development. However, we are working in the wind tunnel and as soon as there is a significant gain we will bring it to the track as soon as possible."
Sainz's season and Bozzi's debut as a track engineer
Despite leaving at the end of the year, Carlos Sainz is working hard to conclude his adventure at Ferrari in the best possible way. A commitment that Frederic Vasseur admires and appreciates. “Carlos has the same mentality as when we presented the car in February. He is aware of the situation. His first reaction in February was to tell me to push together until the last corner of the last race. He is a great professional and is fully dedicated to the cause".
There was also no shortage of praise for Brian Bozzi, who from one day to the next, precisely from the Imola GP, found himself having to fill a new important role, and under everyone's eyes, namely Charles Leclerc's track engineer. Bozzi did not hide his emotion at finally seeing Charles win. There seems to be an excellent understanding between the two, which is immediately noticeable when listening to the radio teams."He was the author of two weekends without errors and in Monaco during the race he was very direct with Charles. Monte Carlo was not easy to manage. The drivers asked to push and had to be held back. On a technical level the collaboration with Leclerc is excellent, but they have known each other for years."
Source statements: sky sports f1, FormulaPassion
