Carlos Sainz assured that Frederic Vasseur will “respect” his talent and not turn him into a ‘No. 2’ driver

Charles Leclerc and Frederic Vasseur have a very good relationship, which some felt is a warning sign for Carlos Sainz. But the Spaniard is not worried.

Carlos Sainz assured that Frederic Vasseur will “respect” his talent and not turn him into a ‘No. 2’ driver

Carlos Sainz (L) Frederic Vasseur (C) Charles Leclerc (R)

At the end of the last F1 season, Mattia Binotto was let go from Ferrari after spending 28 years with the Maranello outfit. He was replaced by Frederic Vasseur, who is right now hard at work preparing his team for the upcoming season. Pre-season testing is less than a week away. The goal in 2023, as always at Ferrari, is to win the title. Last season, they faltered despite a strong start, with Charles Leclerc leading Carlos Sainz in a 1-2 in Bahrain.

The general feeling was that they wasted the potential of the F1-75, even before it become uncompetitive compared to the Red Bull. A storm of strategic and driver mistakes and reliability issues came together to unravel their season. None of these things should happen to them in 2023, especially not the strategic errors. Apart from sorting out the reliability issues, the strategy would be another area of focus for Vasseur. But he would also wish to leave his imprint on the team.

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He must have his own way of doing things, different than how Binotto did. One of these ‘ways’ was reported as his interest in enforcing a first and second-driver arrangement at Ferrari. Considering his close relationship with Leclerc, many interpreted this as bad news for Sainz. But Vasseur has denied that this will be the case – both drivers will start on equal footing, but he will ‘take action’ if needed.

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The Spaniard also insists that he is not worried about the closeness between his teammate and his team principal. He does not think he will be relegated to the second driver spot. Speaking to Sky Sports, Sainz said: “No. not at all. Honestly, I’ve always got on well with my Formula 1 bosses, and I have the confidence that as soon as Fred sees me, sees my working capabilities, but also that my speed and my talent, I am pretty sure Fred is going to respect that.”

Read More: “I adapted to make it happen,” Carlos Sainz denies any development by Ferrari to aid his driving style

Carlos Sainz: Good relationship with Leclerc will help Vasseur ‘have an influence’

Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz

Charles Leclerc and Frederic Vasseur have a long history together. The first time the two collaborated was back in 2016 when Leclerc drove for ART Grand Prix in GP3. He was the champion that season. Two years later, Vasseur was the team principal at Sauber when Leclerc made his F1 debut. Now, they’re both together at the most successful Formula 1 team of all time. So, they definitely know each other well – both have said they have a good relationship with the other.

Far from being worried about this, Carlos Sainz thinks that this good relationship could even help Vasseur have an ‘influence’ on the team. He said: “We’re going to get on well like I get on with everyone in Formula 1. And the fact that he, if anything, has a good relationship with Charles I think it’s going to help him to have an influence in the team earlier on.”

While it doesn’t seem like Vassuer will ‘unjustly’ enforce a first and second-driver arrangement, Sainz still needs to keep himself in the game. Part of this will be starting the season off well – he cannot struggle with the car for a bit as he did in 2023. He will have to be at top of his game, and keep in touch (or be better) than Leclerc. As Vasseur said, he won’t hesitate to ‘take action’ if needed.

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