“That's what has been lacking in Ferrari": F1 pundit credits Fred Vasseur for bringing missing part of the puzzle

Former Aston Martin strategist turned F1 pundit Bernie Collins praised Fred Vasseur for making Ferrari team members more comfortable and confident. She opined that the level of comfort Vasseur brought was missing from the Italian giants.

Vasseur joined the Maranello-based team in 2023 as a successor to former team principal, Mattia Binotto. In Vasseur's tenure as a team principal, the team has won three races up until now: the 2023 Singapore GP, the 2024 Australian GP, and the 2024 Monaco GP.

Speaking on Sky Sports F1 podcast, Bernie Collins recalled that in an older interview, Frederic Vasseur stated it did not matter what he did in the team; rather, making other team members comfortable in their jobs was more important.

"You know, Fred has brought a lot to that team I think. And there was a really telling interview I think that we did over the Japanese Grand Prix, where he said it's not about what he's doing; it's about everyone in the pit wall feeling comfortable to do their own job," Collins said.

She further added that the comfort that Vasseur brought was somewhat missing from Ferrari.

"I think that's what has been lacking in Ferrari. That's what I thought was lacking in Ferrari and then Fred sort of, you know, put concrete words to that in fact," she further opined.

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Ferrari team boss optimistic about challenging Red Bull for the title in 2024

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur feels his team is in contention for the 2024 F1 world championship. Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda, Vasseur stated that though Red Bull could dominate on certain tracks, his team and McLaren are not too far away in terms of performance. He believes that the fight for the title could be tight till the end of the 2024 season.

“For sure depending from track to track, Red Bull [will have] an advantage or Ferrari or McLaren. We will have to be opportunistic, it was not always the case in the past, last year we lost far too many points into the season and this season we made a huge step forward on this one also. We are much more opportunistic and it will be like this until the end of the season, the fight could be tight,” Vasseur said.

In the constructors' championship table after the Monaco GP, Ferrari is currently second with 252 points, while Red Bull is leading the table with 276 points. McLaren is also close to the top two teams, standing in third place with 184 points.

In the drivers' championship after the Monaco GP, Charles Leclerc is second with 138 points, while Red Bull star Max Verstappen leads the table with 169 points. McLaren's Lando Norris is in third place with 113 points.