Ferrari seems to be well on the way to attacking Red Bull – Team Principal Frederic Vasseur has played an important part in this, says Chief Engineer Jock Clear
Ferrari seems to be well on the way to putting Red Bull under pressure: At the season opener in Imola, the Italians secured a double best time in practice through Charles Leclerc. The major update seems to be working – and this is mainly thanks to team boss Frederic Vasseur, who has called for his team to take more risks and adopt a more aggressive approach.
“I think that’s a credit to Fred,” praises Ferrari chief engineer Jock Clear. “Leadership gives people the confidence to make riskier decisions and, frankly, that’s Fred’s strength. If he says it’s necessary, then that’s fine as long as he allows it, and he definitely does.”
Vasseur, who took over as Ferrari team principal around a year and a half ago, “gives people the confidence to say, no, we can try something different, and if we learn something, that’s all we can do,” says Clear.
And even if it goes wrong, “we’ve still learned something,” says the Ferrari chief engineer. Vasseur gives his employees the necessary self-confidence. “This has been noticeable since Fred joined the team, and the employees enjoy it,” reveals Clear. “They’re not afraid to try new things unless they think they’re going to get all the blame.”
“The fact is that the team members are now looking at it from the perspective that we can learn a lot quicker if we take risks,” says the Briton, who has been with Ferrari since 2015. “If we all just keep pedaling, then Red Bull will pedal at the same speed as us.”
“The difference is that Red Bull won’t have to take any risks,” speculates Clear, who suspects that the world champions will be lulled into a sense of security for the time being due to their superior leading position. “That risk factor will be the differentiator between the teams trying to catch Red Bull and Red Bull itself. “
