New Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has vowed to fix ‘every single mistake’ the team made last year as he looks to win the 2023 Formula 1 title.
The Scuderia started last season with the fastest car on the grid and after Charles Leclerc won two of the opening three races, many tipped them to end their long wait for a championship.
However, a number of infamous strategy blunders and reliability issues, as well as some driver errors, allowed Max Verstappen and Red Bull to cruise to victory instead, with Mattia Binotto paying the price as a result.
Ferrari have replaced Binotto with ex-Alfa Romeo boss Vasseur who outlined his expectations for the team in his first news conference since moving to Maranello on Thursday.
And contrary to his often overly-cautious predecessor, the 54-year-old Frenchman was clear with what he wanted to achieve, saying: ‘When you are in a top team, you can’t have another target than to win.
‘You can’t start the season saying you are happy with P2 – it would be a lack of ambition. We have everything to do a good job and the target has to be to win.
‘I am trying to understand exactly what happened on every single mistake last year and to try to know if it is a matter of decision, of organisation, of communication.
‘Very often on the pit wall the biggest issue is more the communication and the number of people involved than the individuals.
‘If you put too many people discussing about the same things, when you have the outcome of the discussion the car will be on the next lap.
‘You just need to have a clear flow of discussion and communication between the good people in the right position. It’s a work in progress.
‘I trust the guys in place and I will try to put them in the best position to do the best job. Then it will be time after a couple of weeks or months to take action if it is not working.’
As well as promising to be more cutthroat with his staff, Vasseur also stated that he was more than willing to give either Leclerc of Carlos Sainz Jr. number one, but not at the start of the season, adding: ‘We have two very good drivers, both of them are able to do the job.
‘We will have the capacity to provide them exactly the same car and the same structure and the same support. What is clear that the target is to win with Ferrari and for Ferrari.
‘There will be no number one or number two. But if at one stage, we have to take action, I will take action. It doesn’t matter if it’s for one or the other, but if at one stage of the season I have to do something, I will do it.’
Kimi Raikkonen was the last Ferrari driver to win the championship back in 2007, while the Italian team’s last constructors’ title was won the following year.
Ferrari will unveil their 2023 car on February 14th ahead of the season opener in Bahrain on March 5th.
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