Vasseur will not change the team of strategists at Ferrari… for now

Ferrari's 2022 season was marked by average reliability, certainly, but above all by missed opportunities... due to often questionable strategies. Mocked for this, the Team failed several times last year: the most obvious examples being Monaco (missed double stop to put on intermediate tires) or even Budapest (failed hard tire strategy for Leclerc). The team of strategists, led by Ignacio Rueda, did not live up to the potential of the F1-75 last season.

However, Frédéric Vasseur does not want to kick in the anthill. At least not for now. The new director of Sports Management at Ferrari does not intend to change everything for his first months at Maranello. The Frenchman believes that he must first conduct an internal investigation to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the team.

« It would be arrogant of me to intervene in the technical department after two weeks in the walls, he declared during his press conference on January 26. We are having discussions to see how we could improve the system after identifying its weaknesses. It's more about continuous improvement, rather than making sweeping, sweeping changes. To me, that wouldn't make sense. I have confidence in the team in place. I have to make sure I put them in the best possible condition. If this does not work after several months, action will need to be taken ».

Vasseur wants " to understand " Ferrari's mistakes

Asked about possible changes within the team of Ferrari strategists, Frédéric Vasseur preferred to keep things clear: no changes will be made in the short term. According to the French director, the main problem does not come from people, but from communication. “ When we talk about strategy, we only see the tip of the iceberg. It's not just the responsibility of the person at the top of the chain of command. Very often, it is a question of organization and communication, of exchanges on the stand wall”, believes the new Team Principal of the Scuderia.

Frédéric Vasseur therefore gives himself time to observe and judge, before making frank decisions within the Italian organization. “ We are re-evaluating all of this. I'm trying to understand what happened with each mistake I made last year. I want to see if the problem comes from the decision, the organization, or the communication. Very often, on the pit wall, the problem comes from too many people involved, and not from the individuals themselves. When you have several people discussing the same thing, by the time you make a decision, the car has entered the next lap. There needs to be a clear flow of communication between the right people. Timing is tight but we need to improve ».

There is no doubt that the French director will be uncompromising if the Scuderia's performance on the pit wall does not improve...

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