It was normal for the comparison between Jean Todt And Frederic Vasseur, united at least by the French passport. The old team principal actually comes from the Auvergne mountains and the new one from the suburbs of Paris, but when they speak English the accent is the same. And Todt seemed to be affected in the series of non-answers and platitudes pitted by the new head of GeS. Which is absolutely not a criticism: on the contrary, it means that Vasseur has done his job well, which at the moment is certainly not that of opening up in public. A little tension in the interview Sky, it was evident: Fred wrung his hands, whereas Todt bit his nails, but one senses that the pressure of working in Maranello is also the fear of saying one word too many. So much so that Vasseur modestly lowered his voice at the end, to say what everyone wanted to hear: namely that he (and Ferrari, and everyone) will only be happy with the world title won.
Compared to his compatriot, of course, Fred flaunts much less arrogance and is instinctively more likeable; but the awe that inspired Todt was also the daughter of the awareness of his power. Instead, we know that with Vasseur in the role of TP, Ferrari has added a step up the hierarchical ladder. His predecessors answered and reported directly to the Chairmanship, while Fred will have the CEO as direct superior Benedict Vigna. Even this shouldn’t necessarily be seen in a negative way: we’ll see how the new structure will respond to the test of facts. For now, the new principal has been described at work with two very promising adjectives: “resolute and serious”. A nice way to reply to the doubts of the eve, because Fred’s reputation was for spending no more than two days a week in the office in Hinwil, having several collateral interests. All true, but even the bosses have to change gears if necessary.
If we really want to find an analogy with Jean Todt in the new boss, we can cite the attention to detail. Which often make the difference and which sometimes reveal a lot. For the launch of the new single-seater, Ferrari has renounced a millenary tradition: that of keeping everyone in suspense (except one) in communicating the official name. The acronym SF-23 recovers the “esse” so dear to Sergio Marchionne, which obviously stands for “stable” and wants to gratify the work of the men and women involved in Maranello and away from home. But it was announced well in advance, as if to say that suspense is no longer a priority. On the other hand, compared to a year ago, there have been no leaks of more or less stolen images, and this is a sign of seriousness for everyone.
Compared to the visual shock of the new generation introduced a year ago, it is obvious that the lines of the new single-seater could not have the same impact, since it is an evolution on the same parameters. Although, at first glance, it seems to me that an interesting job has been done on the volumes in the area of the bonnet. The Power Unit is the special guarded one of this season, after the many allegations about horses lost and then recovered. Let’s not forget that developments are ‘frozen’ and therefore, rather than gaining power, the aim was to have the same performance on each track. This is the objective, which in January did not seem to have been achieved yet (it is difficult); but in the meantime the work went on. Compared to expectations, the picture of reality is always a little less rosy.
Change the car and above all the team will change, because Ferrari must at all costs improve the communication between the pit wall and the garage, or between engineers and mechanics. A very delicate role which in recent years has been entrusted to various technicians, sometimes without specific experience, reaching the paradox of forgetting the countdown in the minutes before the start of a GP (!) or “dubbing” from the remote garage the in charge on the track, suggesting the moves to make. Some movements have already taken place, even if not announced. If I may allow myself a judgement, I believe that the arrival of a TP who comes ‘from below’, that is from a customer team, can help Ferrari prune so many now useless legacies of a past culture, so many “It’s always been like this”in favor of one simpler and more practical management. And that’s good.
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