Ferrari were left scrambling around to appoint a team principal before the turn of the calendar year, after Mattia Binotto announced his resignation from the role only days after the Scuderia publicly defended the Swiss’ position with the team.
It was initially rumoured that Ferrari chairman John Elkann was on the hunt for a high-profile appointment such as Christian Horner or Ross Brawn, however with Horner loyal to Red Bull and Brawn stepping away from Formula 1, the team were forced to look elsewhere.
Alfa Romeo boss Fred Vasseur is now confirmed to be taking over from Mattia Binotto when the Swiss departs Ferrari at the end of the month, to mixed reception from fans of the Scuderia.
“You replaced the head but not solved the problem. Hopefully Vasseur will bring more changes and hold the drivers accountable,” suggested one Twitter user, hinting that Ferrari needed to replace a large chunk of the team responsible for the strategy errors, rather than just the top boss.
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“Now Ferrari has to do something about their strategy department. Mattia wasn’t the real issue, but they shouldn’t have let him go completely. Dudes a remarkable engineer,” wrote another Twitter user, clearly agreeing that the problems at Ferrari have deeper roots than Binotto.
Charles Leclerc worked under Vasseur during his rookie year with Sauber, and with the Frenchman usually preferring to implement a system with a clear number one driver, some fans have suggested the Vasseur’s appointment could be good news for the Monegasque driver.
“The team boss who will determine the 1st pilot in the team has finally arrived. Leclerc and Vasseur like the old days,” posted one user in a reply to Ferrari’s announcement.
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“Charles definitely performed better under Fred. Maybe it will continue with Ferrari. I quite like Fred. Best of luck to him. Hope he gets to choose a better strategy team as well. The current team is unacceptable,” replied another Ferrari fan.
The general consensus to Vasseur’s appointment is a positive one, with the Frenchman’s signing set to bring better fortunes for Leclerc, who was reportedly not even on speaking terms with Binotto by the time the 2022 season ended.
While fans are happy with the appointment, it is often mentioned that Vasseur should be allowed to restructure the team, with the strategy team at Ferrari often shooting themselves in the foot last season, a problem which is deeper rooted than the team principal.