Charles Leclerc Reveals Fred Vasseur's 'Quality' That Is Elevating Ferrari To Its Winning Form

Charles Leclerc has revealed Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur's "huge quality" that is elevating the team in the pecking order and positioning the team as a title contender.

Ferrari showcased an impressive resurgence in the 2024 season, despite introducing upgrades mid-season that had a negative impact on the car's performance. The team lost the Constructors' Championship to McLaren last year by a mere 14 points in the Abu Dhabi season finale.

Vasseur, who joined Ferrari in 2023 following the exit of Mattia Binotto, not only elevated the team's position in the championship but also transformed the mindset of the outfit to tackle a tightening F1 grid amid the complexities of the ground effect era.

One big move Ferrari made through Vasseur was the signing of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in early 2024, which raised the company's stock value greatly.

His relationship with Hamilton goes back to his 2006 title-winning GP2 season, and he is said to have played an important role in securing him at Ferrari. Speaking to The New York Times towards the end of last year, Leclerc said about his team boss:

"Where Fred is extremely good is in taking a step back in whatever situation we find ourselves in.

"That's very difficult because it's a sport, and we all care a lot about what we do, we all want to do well, and we are affected whether things go good or bad.

"But Fred is very emotionally flat, and that helps a team like Ferrari so much because the team is all the opposite, mostly because there's so much passion within the team. Emotions run very high both ways, whether they are good or bad.

"Fred is the kind of guy that manages straight away, even within a weekend where emotions can be super good or super bad, to take a step back.

"Twenty minutes after a race, we all sit down together, and he's already on a very good analysis, putting emotions aside, and that's a huge quality to run Ferrari."

Leclerc added:

"The mentality within the team and the way we work is so much better. We are a much more solid team.”

The Monegasque driver previously worked with Vasseur during his junior racing career and again in 2018 when Vasseur served as team boss at Alfa Romeo. Leclerc pointed out that the ability to remain emotionally stable has always been a strong point of Vasseur. He said:

"I feel like he's always had that in himself. He's always had the consistency.

"Whenever I go and see Fred, I know what to expect. It's not like there's any kind of difference in humour or whatever."