The first race of the 2023 Season is almost here, and for the Prancing Horse it’s time to show real changes and the work previously done to contend for this Season’s World Championship.
Frédéric Vasseur, Ferrari’s new Team Principal, spoke to motorsport.com – about the changes following his entry and the plans for the season. Plans involving specific developments, are scheduled until the end of the season.
“We have a good starting base, we have not had any major problems in the three days of testing we have just completed, and that is crucial. We have developments planned until the final stage of the season, but I expect we will all have something already in Jeddah or Melbourne, I don’t think it’s a secret.”
It is hardly a secret how last year the Italian Team tried to approach the season by concentrating all its efforts on the 2023 car, as reiterated by the now former Team Principal, Mattia Binotto. Asked about the achievement of the targets for the upcoming season regarding the improvement of the efficiency, not at the expense of aerodynamic load loss, Vasseur responded:
“It’s always a compromise, it’s up to us to decide whether we want to run the car with more or less downforce, Red Bull last year made some slightly aggressive choices on this front, but it’s too early to draw conclusions.”
There are many expectations regarding the first race, but the Frenchman did not give any predictions regarding the upcoming first qualifying session
“We know we have three more free practice sessions. Then the conditions will change a lot, we will mainly be driving in the evening, with low temperatures, but in testing we couldn’t just concentrate on the last hour when the track is fastest.”
Regarding the much-discussed role changes in the team, such as Iñaki Rueda’s new role at Maranello, replaced by Ravin Jain, Vasseur explained how results do not simply come from a visible figure in the paddock and that changes in the entire information flow were necessary
“From the outside when you talk about strategy you always tend to look at the person sitting on the pit wall. In reality it is a more complex mechanism, there is software, there is a flow of information, a communication channel, aspects that are often more important than the person physically sitting on the field.
“We have decided to change the organisation a bit, Inaki will be in the company focused on the sporting side, Ravin will be on the wall. But that’s not the only change. We’ve also revised the flow of communication to make sure we have an efficient exchange, because when everything goes well there is time for three or four people to interact, but when you have to react in a second it’s a different story, because a scenario can arise that wasn’t in the plans. We did something a little more direct, and I think it will work well.”
With three days of testing behind him and a season ahead, the Team Principal remains focused on the next goals to be achieved, keeping his mind set on continuous improvement to reach ever-higher goals.
“If they [Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz] were happy we would probably be looking at the wrong professional approach. The DNA of this sport always leads to wanting to achieve more and having to do more.”
Photo: Scuderia Ferrari
