Ex-Formula 1 and Ferrari driver Jean Alesi has tipped the Scuderia’s racing director Laurent Mekies to be vital to Frederic Vasseur’s first season as the team’s boss, after replacing Mattia Binotto.
Binotto resigned from the team principal role at Ferrari following the conclusion of the 2022 season, with the Italian having come under fire for the team’s “unwatchable” strategies.
Many believe that Binotto was given a choice by Ferrari chairman John Elkann, resign or be fired.
Reporters and pundits questioned Binotto’s management style last season, with the 53-year-old having refused to make changes to the team’s personnel, despite the victory-costing blunders.
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With the reports that Ferrari’s 2023 car is 30hp more powerful and a second faster than last season’s F1-75, the team can’t make the same mistakes.
It’s vital for Vasseur to ensure that 2023 isn’t a replica of 2022, with Ferrari likely to be in the title fight based on the growing speculation of their 2023 car.
“Let’s be honest, on the tactical front, Ferrari was unwatchable last year,” Alesi told Italy’s Autosprint.
“Things definitely need to change, otherwise there is no way out for the team.”
Alesi believes Mekies will be the person that Vasseur will rely on, with the former Alfa Romeo boss being in need of a strong start to the season after taking on the role likened to a poisoned chalice.
Mekies joined Ferrari in 2018 and was by Binotto’s side for his entire stint as team principal, meaning the Frenchman will likely know exactly what “needs to be changed”.
On the flip side, Alesi has also pointed out that Mekies will be able to inform Vasseur on what “should stay the same” for 2023, with not everything having been a disaster for the Scuderia last season.
“I think Vasseur has to rely very much on Laurent Mekies,” Alesi remarked.
“Mekies has been at Ferrari for years and he can be the ideal person for Vasseur to see where things need to be changed and what, on the contrary, should stay the same because there is potential.”
Staggeringly, Vasseur is the first non-Italian Ferrari team boss since fellow Frenchman Jean Todt, who held the role from 1993-2007.
Todt was incredibly successful and overlooked Michael Schumacher’s dominant years with the Italians, when Ferrari were virtually unbeatable.
Whilst Vasseur might be tempted to make some cultural changes to the Italian team based on Todt’s success, Alesi has warned the Frenchman not to do so, with Ferrari being “only Italian”.
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“If you tell me that Ferrari is going to speak or should speak more and more French, I will say no immediately,” he said.
“Maranello is Italian. One has to speak Italian and only Italian.
“I once drove for the Scuderia and there I experienced the very best moments of my career.”