New Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has dismissed suggestions that he is already unhappy at Maranello, following reports that the Frenchman’s “resources” are being restricted by CEO Benedetto Vigna.
2023 certainly hasn’t started well for Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc having retired from third following yet another power unit failure, whilst Carlos Sainz had no choice but to settle for fourth due to very high tyre degradation.
It’s not just on-track where Ferrari have problems to solve, with a number of senior figures mulling over their future at the Italians, due to Vigna’s management style.
Former head of vehicle concept has already departed Maranello for another team, with race director Laurent Mekies also reportedly considering his options.
READ: Max Verstappen warned about major threat in Saudi Arabia
Vigna has certainly ruffled a few feathers amongst the Scuderia, with him having increased his presence amongst the team following the departure of former boss Mattia Binotto.
It’s been reported that Vigna has taken on some of Binotto’s former roles instead of Vasseur, leading to suggestions that the Frenchman has already clashed with his boss.
Vasseur, though, has rejected any suggestions that he’s unhappy with Vigna, and that he actually has more “decision-making power” than he’s ever had before.
“I have resources and decision-making power that I have never had anywhere else,” Vasseur insisted to France’s Auto Hebdo.
Vasseur will be keen to turnaround side’s poor start to the season quickly, with Leclerc having since revealed that Ferrari’s disappointing pace in Bahrain wasn’t a shock following pre-season testing.
“We were not surprised that this happened after the test days,” Leclerc told France’s CANAL+, “but it was still painful to compare ourselves to Red Bull.”
With this weekend’s race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit expected to be a one-stopper, it could cause issues for Ferrari if they can’t find a set-up that improves their tyre wear.
Ex-F1 driver Ralf Schumacher was shocked at Ferrari’s tyre degradation in Bahrain and can’t believe they made “such a big mistake”.
READ: Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to swap teams in 2024
The brother of Ferrari legend Michael Schumacher has warned the Scuderia to quickly solve their problems, with the German already sensing that the side have “gotten worse rather than better”.
“I don’t know how you can make such a big mistake like that,” Schumacher told formel1.de, referring to tyre wear.
“They really need to sort that out, because the problem was there last year and I feel like it’s gotten worse rather than better.”