“A very good move”: Frederic Vasseur’s former F3 colleague Van der Garde believes Ferrari hit the jackpot by hiring the Frenchman
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While it has been a few weeks since the Formula 1 2022 season has been officially over with the grand ending ceremony at the Abu Dhabi GP, the F1 news pipeline is far from dead. Right after the Championship got over, the then-Team Principal of Ferrari, Mattia Binotto, announced that he would be stepping down from his duties as the leader of the Scuderia after they had to settle for the second place in the Constructors’ Standings despite being the initial favorites of all the F1 pundits. This was followed by a period of contemplation amongst the Tifosis as they had no idea who would take up Binotto’s place in the Maranello outift.
Finally, the executives at Scuderia Ferrari announced former Alfa Romeo Team Principal Frederic Vasseur to be the candidate who would replace Mattia Binotto at the head of the squad. The Frenchman has been closely associated with the Italian team, and he has the experience of managing a Formula 1 team. Thus, he has been deemed perfect for the job. And now, reports have come up that one of his former colleagues and an ex-F1 racer, Giedo van der Garde, has supported Ferrari’s decision to appoint Frederic Vasseur.
In his latest interview, van der Garde, who served as Sauber’s reserve driver during the F1 2014 season, talked about the abilities that Frederic Vasseur has displayed, which will held him steer Ferrari back to their winning ways. While the team is the oldest and the most successful one in the history of F1, it has been a long wait for the Tifosis since they have not won a Constructors’ Championship since 2008. But now, with the change in leadership, Giedo van der Garde believes good days are awaiting the Ferrari squad.
Giedo van der Garde reckons Frederic Vasseur knows how to lead a team to win a Championship
The executives at the Ferrari headquarters in Maranello are now under a lot of pressure because the team just came tantalizingly close to winning the Constructors’ Championship last year but still did not manage to do so since they were unable to put up a good defense against Red Bull. At a time like this, replacing Mattia Binotto with Frederic Vasseur is a bold move.
Speaking on this, van der Garde said, “[It is] a very good move. He is a man with experience and someone who knows how to lead a team and win a championship. The latter may not have happened in Formula 1 yet, but in all other classes in which he has been active, he has operated successfully.”
The upcoming F1 season is all-set to kickstart from the first week of March, which is only a few months away. Once the Ferrari Championship campaign is underway, it will be up to Frederic Vasseur to make his changes and lead the team to the top of the grid. Now, it remains to be seen if the Frenchman succeeds in doing so and keeping up his performances as there is a lot of expectations from him.
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Riddhi Mondal
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