Frederic Vasseur seems committed to preserving Ferrari’s “exceptional” driver combination past the conclusion of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc’s 2024 agreements.
Luca di Montezemolo, the previous president of the Maranello team, stated earlier this week, “the last problem for Ferrari today is the drivers – it is the car.”
Echoing this sentiment, the current team leader, Vasseur, expressed his agreement at the Il Festival dello Sport.
“The drivers are part of the performance and we have two excellent ones – very good and competitive,” he pointed out.
“We have talked about them and they are professionals,” Vasseur elaborated. “They know where the limits are and so far they have done a fantastic job.”
However, recent whispers have linked Sainz, especially, with speculative discussions with Audi about a prospective transition to Sauber in the future.
This gossip has been fuelled by suggestions that the camaraderie between Sainz and Leclerc is waning, with Leclerc grappling to retain his evident front-runner position within Ferrari.
Responding to this during his appearance at the festival in Trento, Sainz clarified, “I trust him (Leclerc) a lot,” and further stated, “I see him as honest and I see his commitment to the team. And the important thing is to build the future together.”
Furthermore, Sainz, who is 29, has been pressing Vasseur for information regarding his expiring contract.
Speaking of the Spanish racer, Vasseur conveyed: “You can see that he is a part of this world, thanks also to the example of his father.
“He is tenacious, which we see in every turn he takes. This year he has worked a lot on some things that slowed him down and since Monza he has changed his approach.
“In sport, talent is not enough,” the French head emphasized. “You have to constantly improve, and Carlos has this mentality.”
On the topic of his association with the iconic red team, Sainz also dismissed any notion of discontent.
“All the great legends of F1 have been at Ferrari,” he is quoted by DAZN as saying, “except poor Ayrton (Senna), who didn’t have the opportunity.
“But Michael (Schumacher), Fernando (Alonso), (Gilles) Villeneuve – everyone. Every driver wants to be at Ferrari one day. Whoever says otherwise is lying.”
