Leclerc frustrated with Ferrari's poor start to 2023 F1 season
Mar.14 - Frederic Vasseur has hit back at claims he is already unsatisfied with life as Ferrari's new team boss.
Amid a swathe of confirmed and rumoured personnel departures, it was also speculated this week that Frenchman Vasseur has found himself at early loggerheads with Ferrari's CEO Benedetto Vigna.
The rumour is that Vigna vetoed a sponsorship deal Vasseur was brokering and has taken over other roles formerly done by axed ex-team boss Mattia Binotto.
Speaking to France's Auto Hebdo, Vasseur denies it.
"I have resources and decision-making power that I have never had anywhere else," the former Renault and Alfa Romeo boss insisted.
However, what does seem to be clear is that Charles Leclerc is already frustrated with Ferrari's disappointing start to the 2023 season.
When asked by France's Canal Plus if he knew how many races Max Verstappen has won in the past two years, he answered: "No, and I don't want to know."
The Monaco-born driver also didn't know how many wins Ferrari has secured in the past ten years.
Charles Leclerc driving the Ferrari SF-23 during the 2023 Bahrain F1 GP
"No, but it would undoubtedly be a difficult number," Leclerc said.
He insists, however, that Ferrari's poor start to 2023 was not a big surprise.
"We were not surprised that this happened after the test days," he said, "but it was still painful to compare ourselves to Red Bull."
According to former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, however, Ferrari should be surprised.
"I don't know how you can make such a big mistake like that," he told formel1.de, referring to Ferrari's biggest problem so far this year - 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."
But German racing legend Hans-Joachim Stuck backs Vasseur - who was not in charge when Ferrari designed the 2023 car - to eventually sort out the issues.
"There will probably be a lot of pressure from above," he told Eurosport, "but Vasseur is the right man for that.
"He also needs a certain amount of time to bring in all his skills and experience. In Italy, you often hear about the 'grande casino', so it will take a while before they get to the level they are hoping for."
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So he hasn't counted or has forgotten how many races Max won in the last two seasons.
Less mistakes will help the team, for sure.
Sadly, the Millennial penchant for entitlement finds verdant expression in this little Frenchman's sob-story about how frustrated he is so far this season.
Chuck got all wrapped-around-the-axle because he didn't step onto the podium at the first race of the 2023 season - especially as he didn't win.
As they say in France, la boo-hoo.
You got that right: boo-hoo.
It's not as if Charles didn't make a few mistakes in the last years ruining the chances he was given. How quickly we forget...
Either way, Max is a better driver and a better man. You didn't seeing him crying is baby blues when the car let him down.
Boo-hoo to all the rich kids that believe they have an entitlement to the best car/team/boss/mechanics/wheel changers/fans/.
Just drive Charles..... Every driver in F1 history has suffered mechanichal breakdowns, it's part of the job.
You do realize leclerc did less mistakes than verstappen lmao, you ferrari fans are just stupid or what. Its like you guys dont watch the races. Same thing happened with vettel
Not true. In the first HALF of 2022 alone, Leclerc threw away 71 points solely due to his own errors and lost a further 65 points due to reliability issues. The second half of the year was little better. Source: https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/the-f1-points-that-leclerc-and-ferrari-have-thrown-away-in-2022/?v=79cba1185463
Verstappen outscored Leclerc 454 to 308 for the season, a massive 146 point lead. Mathematically impossible if he made more mistakes than Leclerc.
Still hopefully Mercedes will have improved by the time you sign for them for the 2025 season.
Ferrari are clueless and don't deserve CL
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