Who has the reason? The press or Ferrari?: "Some try to destabilize the team"

Last November the Italian press revealed that Mattia Binotto His days were numbered at Ferrari. They were rumors that in the end were confirmed as leaks with real foundations because the Italian’s march was decided on high. At the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix, it was revealed a tense internal situation at Ferrari and the doubtful future in the team of some of its leaders. All this, after a single race in 2023. Is there truth in these latest journalistic accounts, as with the dismissal of Binotto on his day?

“There is a great spirit (in Ferrari), despite some individuals in Italy trying to destabilize the team,” said Carlos Sainz at the press conference of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Was he referring to journalists, or to internal elements of Ferrari itself, not at all happy with the current management of the team? “The atmosphere is much better than it sounds on the news. C.hen you look back on this last week and see how many rumors there have been, it seems that (Ferrari) is not having a great time.. But I can say that we are very clear about what we must improve, how we must do it and what the short, medium and long-term objectives are.”

From Vasseur to Leclerc, passing through Sainz, everyone at Ferrari has tried to convince that the lion does not roar as much from the inside as it is told from the outside. Now, who is right, the press, or is the truth in the hands of the real protagonists? As in soccer, the context determines the perception of performance. The one from the Italian team always differs from its rivals, but now on steroids. Hence the pressure for the Italian team in Jeddah. There are no mistakes on the track, strategy or reliability, at the risk of raising the bar on its already tense atmosphere. Pwas Charles he already pays the price for the sin of reliability too soon. Carlos hinted these days that the degradation is still the same as last year. Ferrari can’t go without some good haul this weekend.

“Jeddah is different”

“I don’t have to say that the press is fair or unfair. They are doing their job and they are doing it the way they want to.” explainedeither Vasseur on the recent revelations in the Italian press, which hinted an iron control of Benedetto Vigna -by order of John Elkann- on the management of the French in the team. engineer’s march David Sanchez -responsible for chassis- unleashed further speculation about Laurent Mekies -the sports director- and other technicians. As if the new policy of CEO Vigna and the departure of Binotto had not been liked by some. These past days, Vasseur tried to rebuild the landscape with his statements to the press. For this, he denied the lack of autonomy in his management.

“The most important thing for me is to be focused on the team: to try to improve the situation, to make the best of what we have and to be focused on this. Honestly, my job is to understand what we have done in Bahrain, the good and the bad, and how we can move forward.”, explained the Frenchman. “SI know perfectly well that the situation is sometimes a bit difficult, it’s a bit unfair, but that’s how it is. The most important thing is to comply with what was planned”. That is, show another image, especially on Sunday.

“For sure we can’t be satisfied with the situation, and I want to take a step forward. The characteristics of Jeddah are completely different compared to Bahrain, in terms of grip, asphalt roughness, track layout,” advance for this weekend. “It will adapt a little more to what we have today. And then we will also bring some updates to Jeddah and hopefully we will step up. We had a clear analysis of what we did in Bahrain. We sure have a long list of things we need to improve. I hope that already in Jeddah we can have a first reaction”. By the account that brings.

“We are going to be more competitive”

“It’s not the way you want to start a season, with a penalty in the second race,” Sainz acknowledged at the official press conference. “Breaking the battery, the ECU, in the first weekend, is to not be happy with it. AND we identify it as a weakness. But it’s the first time we’ve seen this glitch in a long, long time.. She caught us by surprise ”No degradation either?

Sainz also elaborated on the reasons given by Vasseur and Leclerc for their optimism this weekend. In the case of the man from Madrid, the sanction of his partner leaves him the primary responsibility of leading the interests of Ferrari. “The track is completely different from the one in Bahrain. The (asphalt), its nature of high speed track, the level of the wing that we will carry, everything is a bit different compared to Bahrain. I have the feeling that we are going to be a little more competitive.”. Beat Red Bull? “Given how competitive and strong they were in Bahrain, it will be extremely difficult. But I want to be more optimistic after Bahrain and feel that this weekend we have a good chance to get back on the podium.”

“Obviously, I saw these rumors and then I went to Maranello. At first I wasn’t sure how the team would react, but then we had a meeting with all the Ferrari employees and I was really surprised.. Everyone is totally focused and totally positive, which is great”, explained Charles Leclerc to deny the rumors spread by the Italian press, including a personal conversation with John Elkannthe president of Ferrari, to ascertain the future of the team and his personal position.

“This is absolutely false,” the Frenchman emphatically rejected. “Again there have been a lot of rumors around the team and, for once, 90% were completely unfounded. I don’t know where it’s coming from and to be honest I don’t even want to waste energy trying to find where it’s coming from. We just have to be in it and focus on ourselves.” If he wasn’t aware of it, Fred Vasseur already knows where he’s at.

Last November the Italian press revealed that Mattia Binotto His days were numbered at Ferrari. They were rumors that in the end were confirmed as leaks with real foundations because the Italian’s march was decided on high. At the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix, it was revealed a tense internal situation at Ferrari and the doubtful future in the team of some of its leaders. All this, after a single race in 2023. Is there truth in these latest journalistic accounts, as with the dismissal of Binotto on his day?