Charles Leclerc expands on retention of Frederic Vasseur as Ferrari F1 team principal, his impact, nature and more, as Lewis Hamilton talks him and Toto Wolff.
Just before the summer break, Ferrari confirmed the retention of Vasseur as the F1 team principal in a new multi-year contract. While his position wasn’t under threat per se, but speculations and rumours made it look like things could see a change after a year of average results.
Neither Leclerc nor Hamilton thought that Vasseur would be left out, but ‘anything can happen in F1’ bells continued to ring until the final confirmation. The rumours got steam due to the sudden departure of Christian Horner from Red Bull, who ended a long-term reign as a team principal.
But all is settled at Ferrari now, where both Leclerc and Hamilton have welcomed the move. The Monegasque certainly sees change how the F1 team works under Vasseur. He didn’t wish to undertime his other bosses, but noted on the culture change which has only helped the outfit.
One of the biggest differences has been its pit stops and strategy. They were left with second guessing at most times, but things has changed to better than before. His presence has certainly helped both Leclerc and Hamilton to continue to be part of the Ferrari family, as well.
The stability at the top is welcomed and so is his jovial nature. Hamilton sees similarities despite the absolute differences between Wolff and Vasseur. The Brit can see that the Frenchman can extract as much from the Brit and also the F1 team, like the Austrian managed to at Mercedes.
Vasseur news –
Leclerc: “I’m really, really happy. It’s not that it’s coming as a surprise, but I’m really happy. Especially in the past month, there were quite a few rumours, like it’s always the case around the team. To finally have the official news out is important and I’m really happy.”
Hamilton: “You’ve heard my positive comments about Fred [multiple times], so, yeah [it is same now], I told everyone that. There’s nothing else to add, I told you before that it was the right choice, that I signed to, Fred signed me here and I’ve been wanting to work with him.”
Impact of Vasseur, culture change –
Leclerc: “Without going into comparing the different eras, Fred has an incredible vision. What’s very difficult within Ferrari is the emotion is very much part of the daily job because Italian people in general, and that’s what makes Ferrari so special, are extremely passionate about Ferrari. Fred really knows how to leave his emotions aside and have a clear vision of where we are at no matter how much noise there is around the team. This is very, very important. Apart from that, he’s got many more qualities.
“One of them is also to extract the maximum out of every single person at the factory and this, when you put everything together, it makes a big difference. He definitely changed the way we are working on different things. Where Fred made the biggest difference is his vision, his overall vision. This, he embedded it into the team and that’s very important. I feel that the beauty of Ferrari is the fact that emotionally it’s always intense, but it can also harm us in some ways, especially when tougher times arrive. Fred has always had very cold blood in those moments and helped the team to be a little bit more, lucid – do you say that in English? Yes? OK. And that’s the biggest thing Fred has brought to the team.”
Stability at the top –
Leclerc: “I’m not the one making the decisions, but I think stability is always very important. Fred is the person we look up to and the person leading the team. To have him for many more years is definitely a good thing, also because in Formula 1 it takes time to build something, especially a successful team. I’m very happy about that. Knowing that I’ll be able to have Fred alongside me for more years makes me optimistic for the future.”
Getting assurance from Vasseur about car –
Leclerc: “Fred is definitely part of it, but the biggest part is to see how the team works. I’m sure we are working in the right direction. Next year will be a big turning point for us as it will be a new era of cars. Whenever you start a new era, if you are not starting it on the right foot, it’s always more difficult to come back because other teams are also pushing for upgrades. To close the gap is very difficult. We’ll have to start that on the right foot and then we’ll see. For now, I’m fully dedicated to try and make Ferrari great again and to win races again.”
Speculation on Vasseur position due to arrival of Hamilton –
Leclerc: “Definitely. The fact that there was so much hype around the team at the beginning of the year made everything worse. When we then started the season, I think everybody thought we were going to win the championship and unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Then there were rumours and that took a bigger proportion than what we want. These are not things we can control. As I was saying earlier, it’s part of Ferrari. It’s always been the case and it will never change. We cannot focus on that. The best thing we can do is try and not think about those things as much as possible.”
Vasseur’s jovial nature –
Leclerc: “He’s definitely very funny. I’m sure it plays a part in the team. We’ve got some very funny guys within the team as well. However, we are obviously here to work. It helps. Whenever we have team dinners, we are having a good time, and it really feels like a family. For me, it definitely feels like a family. I’ve been growing up in Ferrari basically and I’m still there. Fred has integrated into the team extremely well. Now he’s leading it with his sense of humour as well, which sometimes can lighten some difficult situations. Again, I’m really happy about Fred’s reconfirmation within the team.”
Difference to Wolff, if he can do similar extraction of performance –
Hamilton: “No, [they are] completely different [Vasseur and Wolff], completely different. But in terms of the race, the characters, they’re both massive racers, so that’s what they have in common. All I can say just from my previous experience is just, I remember the real positive when I was working with Toto, was just how he was able to utilise individuals, figure out how people work best, how to get the most out of someone. So, for example, with me, he created freedom for me to be able to express myself the way I wanted to, and that enabled me to be the best version of myself. And that’s what he would do there. And I think Fred is very similar in that respect. I’m still learning, trying to learn the way that Fred likes to work. But I have absolute confidence in Fred, as I’ve always said.”
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