Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur says he has no doubts about the motivation of his drivers, and of Charles Leclerc in particular, after the Scuderia's poor start to its 2023 campaign.
A reliability issue in Bahrain and a mistake at the start in Melbourne have left Leclerc well adrift from his main rivals in the Drivers' championship, with just a seventh-place finish in Jeddah to his name.
The current state of the Monegasque's affairs is in stark contrast to last year, when two wins in the first three races of the season positioned Leclerc as the authoritative leader of the championship.
But despite his disappointing track record year-to-date, the five-time Grand Prix winner's motivation is intact according to Vasseur.
©Ferrari
"I have absolutely no doubt about the motivation of Charles," said the Scuderia boss last week in a call with the media. "For sure the start of the season is not ideal at all.
"We had the DNF in Bahrain and then the penalty in Jeddah, and the DNF in Melbourne. It was not the at all the plan. But the motivation is still there.
"You know that I have a good relationship with Charles. And this won't affect the mood.
"But when you are jumping on Charles or Carlos or any other drivers in the TV pen 30 seconds after the race, for sure they can't be happy.
"And I would be very frustrated if they were relaxed and happy with the situation.
"The most important for me to keep everybody motivated, pushing in the same direction and they are supporting the team. Carlos was there [last] week in the simulator and Charles will be there [this] week.
"The motivation is not an issue at all. For sure the results are not as expected. But we all know that."
©Ferrari
Pressed on the rumors of a low morale setting in at Ferrari after the exit at the end of last year of former team boss Mattia Binotto, and sustained by the team's poor results in 2023, Vasseur insisted the mood at the House of Maranello was positive.
"The mood in the team is incredibly good for the level of result that we have [had]," Vasseur explained.
"I think everybody is very motivated, very focused. The drivers, they are very supportive with us, and the mood in the team is more than good.
"If the question was about the relationship with John [Elkann, Chairman at Ferrari] or Benedetto [Vigna, Chief Executive Officer], trust me that it's also very positive.
"For sure, we don't have the results that we are expecting, but we are all working together to improve the situation."
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