Ferrari vice-president breaks silence on Fred Vasseur amid poor season

Piero Ferrari has stated that the company is completely behind new team principal Frederic Vasseur despite a rocky start.

Ferrari is in the midst of a tricky season, having only managed to secure a podium finish at one circuit so far.

Charles Leclerc bagged P2 in the Sprint race in Azerbaijan and P3 in the Grand Prix but, other than that, Ferrari has found itself behind Red Bull, Aston Martin and Mercedes during race weekends.

The tough start is the opposite of what Frederic Vasseur would have hoped for after taking the helm of the legendary Formula 1 team after Mattia Binotto was sacked over poor strategy calls.

However, Vasseur potentially has an excuse this season, as it appears the car, which he didn’t help design, is simply not as competitive as its rivals.

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Ferrari’s vice-president Piero Ferrari has come out and offered Vasseur the company’s backing, claiming he deserves their confidence.

“We have to give him time to put his hands in the trouble. He is someone who knows racing well, he has been in the business for years, he deserves confidence,” Ferrari told Autosprint.

The support for Vasseur comes as Ferrari attempts to poach key staff from its rivals in a bid to find the secret to success and return to its winning ways.

“We need people from different backgrounds. If we go back in history, when we made real changes in the organisation, by bringing in staff from other teams, the results could be seen,” Ferrari added. 

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“We are good at certain things, but for other things you need specialists to be brought in from outside.”

One example of the team’s efforts to secure top talent was seen in their bid to poach Adrian Newey away from Red Bull.

While ultimately unsuccessful, it does show the direction Ferrari is looking to move in, as it looks to win its first trophy in 15 years.