Brundle casts doubt on Vasseur "tall order" Ferrari job

Sam Hall
Wednesday 14 December 2022 15:10

Former F1 driver Martin Brundle has questioned Ferrari's appointment of Fred Vasseur as team principal.

The 54-year-old Frenchman was announced on Tuesday as the replacement for Mattia Binotto 30 minutes after his departure from Alfa Romeo had officially been confirmed.

Sky Sports co-commentator Brundle, however, is puzzled by the decision, given the Frenchman's record in F1.

"One of the toughest jobs for me in sport is team principal of Ferrari," said Brundle.

"Of course, we know they've let Mattia Binotto go, a lifer really at Ferrari, and Fred Vasseur comes in, and that's a tall order.

"He's got a strong history in motorsport of success, mostly in spec formulas of junior racing.

"Has he done amazing things at Alfa Romeo where you think 'Wow, he's on his way through to a really top job?' Not really.

"But we'll see if he's got the skills required to take Ferrari in the right direction."

Ferrari job bigger than Leclerc

Much has been made of Vasseur's relationship with Charles Leclerc following the pair's success together in GP3.

Leclerc also drove for Vasseur at Sauber during his rookie F1 season in 2018.

Brundle is hopeful Ferrari has brought in Vasseur for other reasons than to 'babysit' Leclerc.

"If they've taken Vasseur on because he is close or was close to Leclerc, it's completely the wrong reason," added Brundle. "It's a massively bigger job than that.

"At Ferrari, they've got Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc - one of the finest driver pairings in Formula 1 - and they both need to feel comfortable and loved and supported.

"Fred won't be going there thinking 'I'm with Charles'. They've got a better chance of keeping Leclerc into the future if he's comfortable, but it's all about performance.

"It's not about who's friendly with who in this business, quite the opposite actually. It's really, who can give him a championship potential car and team.

"Whether he raced with Vasseur and won junior championships, as his younger brother does as well, that's by the by."