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Clever Frederic Vasseur Takes Charge of Ferrari’s Weak Frontier as Charles Leclerc Left Focused & Relaxed: “I’ll Keep This Approach”

Published 03/05/2023, 8:00 AM EST

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via Reuters

Ferrari began the 2022 season campaign instilling hopes in the Tifosi for the return of glory days. The upward climb lasted only for the first few races and the red army suffered a massive heartbreak post that. For the 2023 season, the wait hasn’t even lasted that long as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc lines up third to go racing for the Bahrain Grand Prix. But the upside of the said of the disappointing missing of the pole position is that it involved an important strategy call not taken by the driver but by the new TP, Frederic Vasseur.

Ferrari’s strategy was so off-point that it ruined their chances of winning the championship despite a brilliant driver lineup and a race-winning car. Resultantly, the Ferrari foundation was so shaken that the world saw them asking their drivers, who had very little knowledge of the developments of the race, to take the calls themselves. However, a respite was witnessed when, during the qualifying of Bahrain GP, Ferrari decided to save a set of new soft tires for the race tomorrow and, when presented with the strategy, Leclerc agreed. A while ago, in Beyond the Grid podcast, Leclerc himself stated that the drivers making the strategy calls are not the way forward.

via Reuters

Leclerc said, “In terms of being more vocal once I’m in the car and taking more in hand the decision, I don’t think this is the way forward. Because people don’t understand how little information we have in the car about the whole situation during a race. I strongly believe that if we get better as a team and when I say as a team, it’s everybody involved.”

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He further added, “Speaking about strategy, looking at the strategy, this is when we will be the best all together. That’s where we will win the world championship. We won’t win a world championship if I am making the decisions on my own in the car. This is not how it works. So, on that, I’m convinced. So I’ll keep this approach.”

While the strategy front seems to streamline a little more than last year, another nightmare in the name of tire degradation looms for the Maranello outfit.

Charles Leclerc is not worried about the repeat of the tire degradation telecast from last year

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The worst strategy calls and cars going up in flames weren’t the only problems of the Italian team. As compared to their main rivals, Red Bull and sometimes even Mercedes, they were sometimes left fighting their own rapid tire degradation. However, Leclerc doesn’t seem bothered by it.

via Reuters

As per Motorsport Turkey, Leclerc told, “We had already tried some of the new tires in Abu Dhabi last year. The front tires seem to be stronger, which may affect the stability of the car a bit. But it’s pretty easy to overshadow that with your driving style and balance it out the other way, so I don’t think the tires will have a big impact.”

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Written by:

Anmol

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Anmol is an F1 writer at Essentially Sports. She is a Law graduate from National Law University, Lucknow, and currently pursuing PGD in Journalism and Mass Communication from Symbiosis. Being a Rallyist herself she began watching F1, the apex of motorsports, and eventually fell in love with the sport.
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Edited by:

Varunkumaar Chelladurai