Ferrari crisis deepens with boss Fred Vasseur ‘fed up’ after one race

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur is already ‘fed up’ after a dismal start to the Formula One season, according to reports. The Italian media claims that Vasseur is struggling for influence just months after replacing Mattia Binotto as team principal. 

The Frenchman is allegedly not the individual ‘pulling the strings’ at Ferrari. Instead, CEO Benedetto Vigna has enjoyed more power over the last few months. 

Vasseur has apparently been given ‘little freedom’ in his role and is reporting to Vigna. Reports in Italy claim that the pair’s relationship has soured and that there is plenty of unrest within the team. 

Compared with the nine other team principals, Vasseur is said to enjoy far less power over his team. There are also apparent fears that several key figures within Ferrari could depart, reportedly following their head of aerodynamics, David Sanchez, out of the door.

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According to Corriere dello Sport, there has been plenty of unrest at Ferrari in the seven days after their poor Bahrain Grand Prix performance. It is said that race director Laurent Mekies could be one of the figureheads considering their future. 

Star driver Charles Leclerc supposedly demanded a meeting with president John Elkann to discuss the situation. The Monagasque star failed to finish in Bahrain due to an engine failure. 

It continued Ferrari’s drastically inconsistent performances from 2022. After Bahrain, Leclerc reportedly wrote to team chiefs and demanded meetings with key stakeholders due to his strong frustration over their inability to compete with Red Bull. 

With Leclerc out of the race, while chasing for the podium, his team-mate Carlos Sainz finished in fourth. The Spaniard was comfortably behind Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso also way ahead. 

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“We definitely had the car to fight for the podium. I mean, honestly, the podium was there,” an exasperated Leclerc said after the race.

“We had a good gap behind, I was managing the pace, everything felt good, so it is a shame. Now I just hope we can look into it, understand what went wrong and don’t have this problem anymore…”

Asked if there were any positives to take from the weekend, Leclerc added: “I mean, the first stint, the choice that we have made was the right one in qualifying yesterday. Apart from that, not much.”

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