No “panic” inside Ferrari but someone is “deliberately leaking internal information” – Report

There have been many concerning rumors regarding Ferrari lately, that would indicate tension, but a report states that there is no "panic" inside the team.

No “panic” inside Ferrari but someone is “deliberately leaking internal information” – Report

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur

Ever since their outing at the Bahrain Grand Prix, there have been concerning rumors coming out of Ferrari. In Bahrain, Charles Leclerc retired, but the SF-23 generally showed rather disappointing race pace as well. Carlos Sainz was overtaken late on by Fernando Alonso – which just piled on the misery. The tire degradation remained an issue, as it was in 2022.

Since then, there have been many reports coming out of the team, which indicate tension at Maranello. Some of these are: Leclerc apparently sought a meeting with President John Elkann to discuss the sporting “situation”. Laurent Mekies tried to leave, only for his move to be vetoed by Frederic Vasseur. But why did he want to leave? From a separate report, the Frenchman does not like CEO Benedetto Vigna’s “cumbersome” approach.

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There were reports that there is a rift between Vigna and Vasseur, who reportedly does not have powers comparable to other team principals, and is more like a sporting director. Senior figures like David Sanchez (reportedly for McLaren), Gino Rosato, and Jonathan Giacobazzi have also left the Formula 1 team. So, it would look as if the mood at Maranello is tense. But according to Auto Motor und Sport, that’s not the case.

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Read More: Ferrari is in absolute shambles as rumors of a rift between Fred Vasseur and Benedetto Vigna intensifies

There is no “hire and fire” culture at Ferrari

Ferrari
Ferrari

According to the German magazine, there is no panic at Ferrari. But there is some cause for concern. Apparently, someone is deliberately leaking internal information, such as employees’ contract lengths, from Ferrari. This had been the subject of a report from Corriere della Sera, who put out that Enrico Cardile, whose contract expires next year, may leave the team. These reports would indicate that there is a “hire and fire” culture at the team, but that is not the case.

The news about Laurent Mekies leaving is “old news”. The Frenchman had been looking at other avenues back in December, after Mattia Binotto’s departure. Back then, Frederic Vasseur was able to convince his compatriot to stay, and also made Mekies his “right-hand man”. As for the report regarding David Sanchez, he was a “Binotto man” and started to look at other options during the winter. When he elected to leave, Ferrari did not stand in his way.

But of course, such media reports won’t help ease employees’ worries. So currently, the biggest challenge ahead of Vasseur, apart from the sporting situation, is to “stop the political games” at Ferrari. Obviously, the thing that would help it the most is a race win in Jeddah, and more afterwards. The team’s stated goal in 2023 is to win the title – and nothing less is ever acceptable at Ferrari, much less now.

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