supports Frederic Vasseur who shares with Jean Todt “French nationality and stature”. He admits that he met Binotto after his forced resignation? to discuss Ferrari’s needs, for which he is “very grateful” to the Swiss. He acknowledges that he is a friend of Toto Wolff, his counterpart at Mercedes. “We don’t talk to each other anymore,” he jokes. He emphasizes that he reports to Ferrari Benedetto Vigna (CEO) and John Elkann (president). And he also highlights his style, which does not admit half measures: “My focus in the races is that tomorrow we have to do a better job than yesterday. If you think your team is in good shape today, you’re dead.”
“You must always improve in each area, it is an endless process, something can always be done. When to start? I have already started. What I can bring to the team is my experience of 32 years on the wall, my competitive spirit It is an endless process”, explains the Frenchman, originally from the south of Paris and a 54-year-old engineer by training who is today main team from Ferrari.
His career in racing, worth the redundancy, led him to found the ART team together with Nicholas Todt (Jean’s son), there he was successful in the single-seater categories that give way to Formula 1. Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg, Hulkenberg or Leclerc passed through his hands. In 2016 he signed for Renault as team boss although he left early, in 2017, due to apparent disagreements with Abiteboul. Since then became Sauber’s top manager for F1, to those who settled in the middle zone: the best example is the sixth place in constructors that they achieved in 2022.
But now he gets on an ocean liner that on the track is one second faster per lap. “One second per lap is a huge difference, but less than 1%. Everything here is bigger and more up-to-date than it was in the past. Although the work environment is the same and my work is exactly the same. I must give all my support to the rest so that they do their job in the best possible conditions. Ferrari is in better shape than Sauber was in any area, but it is difficult to pinpoint where the advantage comes from, because when there is a second on the track it is not in one place, but a few hundredths in each area”, he says.
“If you put many people to make a decision…”
He is asked about Ferrari’s recurring strategy mistakes in 2022. “When you talk about strategy or aerodynamics, you don’t have to talk only about the top of the pyramid. It is a matter of organization more than the person on the wall. You have to analyze each mistake from last year and assess whether it is a matter of decision or communication. Many times the problem is the result of the number of related people than of individuals, if you put many people to make a decision. You need a clear flow of communication between the right people. We are working on it, ”he explains.
And how do you intend to confirm Ferrari as a contender for titles with Sainz and Leclerc? He insists that he does not want to “be arrogant” by prescribing solutions for a company he joined a few weeks ago: “The most difficult part of my job is knowing what has happened (in recent years), analyzing it and making decisions.” But he sends a message of optimism: “I am convinced that at Ferrari, with my experience in these weeks, we have everything it takes to win. You have to put all the pieces together. Some teams had a dominant situation a few decades ago and now they are not. In F1 the most important thing is performance and everything is possible”.