Charles Leclerc believes that Fred Vasseur’s impassive management style at the Scuderia provides the right countermeasure to the often-stirring emotions that reside at Ferrari.
At the start of the year, Vasseur replaced former team boss Mattia Binotto at the helm of the Italian outfit, with the Frenchman entrusted with the task of returning Ferrari to the front of the grid.
Known for his no-nonsense approach and as a well-respected operator with an attention to detail, Vasseur brought a wealth of experience to Maranello but also high expectations.
However, Ferrari has been no match for Red Bull Racing this season, although the team has been gaining momentum lately as Carlos Sainz’s win in Singapore last month demonstrated.
Leclerc reckons that Vasseur’s unwavering pragmatism is working well for the Scuderia, as it has helped establish a productive balance at Ferrari which in turn has bolstered its performance.
"Fred is super flat emotionally, which I think is really good in the position he is in because it gives us that a little bit," Leclerc explained in Qatar last time out.
"I think as an Italian team, and as Ferrari, this is what I love most about Ferrari is the emotions that we feel. Whenever we are at highs and how passionate the people are, but to have this balance with Fred I think is also really good.
"To have the clear vision when things are going wrong, and also, when things are going very strong [and say] 'But that's not it, we still need to work very hard', I think we kind of already had that philosophy.
“But I think Fred has strengthened it and that's really good."
Last summer, amid Ferrari’s struggles, it was suggested that the Maranello outfit required an ‘iron fist’ approach to the team’s management, à la Jean Todt.
But Vasseur, who likes to give team members a fair amont of autonomy, dismissed the idea.
“Iron fist is not my way, and times have changed,” he said. “People’s psychological approach is different. We need a more inclusive approach that makes everyone participate in a winning project.
"This is true in all contexts, not just in Formula 1.”
Vasseur’s style eventually gained traction, with the team finding its footing over the summer after a change of concept implemented in June in Barcelona.
Gradually, the Scuderia’s engineers gained a better understanding of their machine, which allowed the team to extract more performance from its car as Leclerc explained.
“Definitely the understanding that we had in Zandvoort, especially to have that confirmed in Monza with very different characteristics at a very different track," said Leclerc.
"That helped us to basically extract the maximum out of the car more consistently, whereas at the beginning of the year, the car was very different from one weekend to the other - so on that we improved a lot."
With five race to go in 2023 and ahead of this week’s US Grand Prix, Ferrari currently sits third in F1’s Constructors’ standings, 28 points behind Mercedes but 68 points ahead of Aston Martin.
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