F1: 'Arrogant' to make big early changes

(GMM) Frederic Vasseur says it would be “arrogant” to sweep into power at Ferrari and immediately make big changes.

Fresh from his departure at Sauber-Alfa Romeo, the Frenchman this week met with the media as the Ferrari drivers brushed off the winter rust with a test at Fiorano.

“I was clear with Charles (Leclerc) and Carlos (Sainz),” he told international journalists in Italy. “They’ll have the same car and support.

“If we then need to favor one or the other at some point in the season, we’ll do that. There is no number 1 except for Ferrari.”

Vasseur, 54, admitted to Italian journalists that he doesn’t speak their native language “well” quite yet. But he has already been taking lessons for three weeks as “I need it for team spirit”.

However, Ferrari brought him in to replace Mattia Binotto, who received the bulk of the blame for the Maranello team’s multiple strategic errors in 2022.

Vasseur says he won’t rush any decisions.

“I don’t want to be arrogant making judgments about what happened in the past. I don’t know yet,” he said.

“The most difficult part of my job is to understand what has happened in the team in order to have a clear analysis and take action. Trust me when I say that this is an incredible challenge.”

Therefore, there will be no immediate departures in the technical department.

“We are in discussions, trying to understand what happened to do a better job,” said Vasseur, “but it is more a continuous improvement than big changes that from my point of view would not make sense.

“I believe in the people and we will try to get the best out of them in the best conditions for a better job.”