"I am in a much more comfortable situation": Ferrari team principal reflects on his first season with the Italian brand

Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur mentioned that he was in a "more comfortable situation" compared to his initial months with the team.

The Frenchman replaced Mattia Binotto as the Team Principal at the beginning of the 2023 season. It wasn't the easiest of starts for Vasseur as the Italian team did not perform as expected in the opening couple of races. However, the 55-year-old helped steady the ship in the final phase of the season and oversaw the team's upturn in form.

Speaking with Motorsport Italy, Vasseur joked that he was "still alive" after his first year in the pressure cooker environment of Ferrari, saying:

“I'm still alive! When I arrived here a year ago I faced a real challenge because it was quite late in terms of the season that was about to start. I had to understand a huge amount of things, all within a couple of weeks of the presentation of the car and four of the start of activity in Bahrain."

He added:

"Now I am in a much more comfortable situation, I know almost everyone in the company, I have a better general understanding and this allows me to work better. But we are a Formula 1 team, if you have the feeling that you are in good shape you risk finding yourself knocked out. We have to maintain the momentum, the last part of the season went quite well but we know that it is never enough and that we must not stop".

Ferrari team boss points out his goals for the 2024 season

Like many Ferrari fans, Frederic Vasseur would hope that the Italian outfit have a better 2024 season, and put up a competitive car that can challenge Red Bull more regularly.

He emphasized on the importance of improvement and hiring of new kew figures for the team, saying:

"I'll be happy if we can do a better job in 2024 than we did in 2023, first and foremost. It's important to improve and then continue to grow. Several people had warned me: Ferrari usually starts well, only to run into difficulty in the second part of the season."

Ferrari were the only team to beat Red Bull in a straight fight this season as they denied them an invincible season by winning the Singapore Grand Prix, courtesy of Carlos Sainz.