SF23 Discussion Thread

[tifosi1993]

It makes absolute sense and is the way to go. Leclerc is the superior driver, so we will use our resources to maximize his talents. Just like RB does with Max.

And just like Ferrari did with Schumi, Mercedes did with Lewis, Mclaren are doing with Norris etc etc

Only Binotto deviated from this normal procedure and had spent valuable time & resources to make the car more "likable" for Sainz. One of the reasons why Ferrari weren't prepared for the TD39.

[brucewayne]

And just like Ferrari did with Schumi, Mercedes did with Lewis, Mclaren are doing with Norris etc etc

Only Binotto deviated from this normal procedure and had spent valuable time & resources to make the car more "likable" for Sainz. One of the reasons why Ferrari weren't prepared for the TD39.

We pretty much lost half a year, with limited developing time and budget. Unbelievable!

[Brembo]

What will be worse here @ our forum, Alonso ; Max or Carlos winning WDC ? ! Go Charles!!

[Senna4Ever]

As I am not that much familiar with what each of the Ferrari driver needs in terms of car: are the needs of Sainz and Lec so much different that it makes uncertain to develop a fast car?

[brucewayne]

What will be worse here @ our forum, Alonso ; Max or Carlos winning WDC ? ! Go Charles!!

Carlos can’t even win races, what are you talking about?

[Brembo]

Charles DNfs are worse than finishing 4th! OK ; it was the car that kept him from a podium. Charles can't even finish a race, what are you talking about!

[roddick_andy]

Charles Leclerc was frustrated after the Bahrain GP and asked for a meeting with Ferrari President John Elkann to discuss the situation.

His contract with the Cavallino expires at the end of 2024 and there has been talk of Mercedes' interest.

It is likely that Leclerc wanted to share his views with Elkann (there is a direct relationship between the two) and receive reassurance.

https://twitter.com/fastestpitstop/s...wUThxH7cHtkSFA

[jgonzalesm6]

Charles Leclerc was frustrated after the Bahrain GP and asked for a meeting with Ferrari President John Elkann to discuss the situation.

His contract with the Cavallino expires at the end of 2024 and there has been talk of Mercedes' interest.

Advice to Leclerc: Never EVER sign a long term contract with the Scuderia for the 2nd time around. Also, get a performance clause that gives you an OUT of the contract.

I was laughed at by a certain member on this forum suggesting the bolded area. I wonder if he's laughing now.

[Greig]

Advice to Leclerc: Never EVER sign a long term contract with the Scuderia for the 2nd time around. Also, get a performance clause that gives you an OUT of the contract.

I was laughed at by a certain member on this forum suggesting the bolded area. I wonder if he's laughing now.

Yep still laughing.

[roddick_andy]

The rift between Vasseur and Benedetto Vigna constitutes the true epicenter of the ongoing earthquake orchestrated by president Elkann, who in effect put Vigna in charge of Vasseur, who now operates with powers inferior to those of his other nine peers in F1."

https://twitter.com/grandprix247/sta...wUThxH7cHtkSFA

[racingbradley]

It is all too much I hate all of this intrigue. Why can't they bury the hatchet for the sake of the team.

[Nick Singer]

It is all too much I hate all of this intrigue. Why can't they bury the hatchet for the sake of the team.

The Borgias!

[Tony]

Advice to Leclerc: Never EVER sign a long term contract with the Scuderia for the 2nd time around. Also, get a performance clause that gives you an OUT of the contract.

I was laughed at by a certain member on this forum suggesting the bolded area. I wonder if he's laughing now.

Mercedes is not doing much better than Ferrari now is it. Unfortunately for Charles, if he jumps ship he will be no better off, Red Bull will not hire him to replace MV. What's the point of jumping ship in 2024, he'd just be pulling an Alonso and will inevitably sabotage his career by locking himself into a team that is not RB.

[Nick Singer]

Nowhere obvious for LEC to go anyway. Red Bull very unlikley and Max wouldn't allow it and Aston Martin? Not sure their challenge will materialise.

[jgonzalesm6]

Mercedes is not doing much better than Ferrari now is it. Unfortunately for Charles, if he jumps ship he will be no better off, Red Bull will not hire him to replace MV. What's the point of jumping ship in 2024, he'd just be pulling an Alonso and will inevitably sabotage his career by locking himself into a team that is not RB.

Not right now......but they have turned things around and quite probably will when Leclercs contract is up with the Scuderia.

Leclerc's been with the Scuderia for 5 years now.......I don't see them changing anytime soon. Ferrari has their issues and Leclerc has his life in F1.....I suggest he change it before his life in F1 runs out....he can only do so much with the car he's been handed.

[Cavallino]

Advice to Leclerc: Never EVER sign a long term contract with the Scuderia for the 2nd time around. Also, get a performance clause that gives you an OUT of the contract.

I was laughed at by a certain member on this forum suggesting the bolded area. I wonder if he's laughing now.

at the very same time, we have rumours floating around that Hamilton wants to come to Ferrari.

i treat both of these claims with the same amount of validity.

[jgonzalesm6]

at the very same time, we have rumours floating around that Hamilton wants to come to Ferrari.

i treat both of these claims with the same amount of validity.

That's not Hamilton's style. He doesn't build a team from the ground up. His approach is "build me a fast car." Mercedes and RedBull has stable team principals. Ferrari does not.

If and when Mercedes fixes their issues, they will be a formidable team once again. It would be an upward movement for Leclerc.

Btw, Lewis has yet to renew his contract with Mercedes....and Mercedes is giving him time to renew it should he want to. Personally, I think Lewis is waiting to see if Mercedes is going to build a car that can compete with RedBull.....and right now, he's not seeing it.

[Tony]

That's not Hamilton's style. He doesn't build a team from the ground up. His approach is "build me a fast car." Mercedes and RedBull has stable team principals. Ferrari does not.

If and when Mercedes fixes their issues, they will be a formidable team once again. It would be an upward movement for Leclerc.

Btw, Lewis has yet to renew his contract with Mercedes....and Mercedes is giving him time to renew it should he want to. Personally, I think Lewis is waiting to see if Mercedes is going to build a car that can compete with RedBull.....and right now, he's not seeing it.

If you recall, before the last rule change preceding this one, Mercedes was a complete dumpster fire. They got lucky with the engine regulations that favored them and that they were working on longer than anyone else. They've lost that advantage. They are not as good as people make them out to be. Red Bull is always a top team subject to the engine supplier, which can make them trash, they're the only safe bet until 2026, then, who knows. Leclerc has nowhere to go. If he signs a 3 year contract with Mercedes, that will mean he wont win a title before 2027 at the earliest.

[brucewayne]

Charles DNfs are worse than finishing 4th! OK ; it was the car that kept him from a podium. Charles can't even finish a race, what are you talking about!

His only win was a gift by Ferrari, they literally destroyed Charles‘ race. Sainz is a good No. 2 driver, that’s it.

[Brembo]

His only win was a gift by Ferrari, they literally destroyed Charles‘ race. Sainz is a good No. 2 driver, that’s it.

I remember clearly Charles #2 driver to Seb but he ignored that and went on to be #! for sure. A few Carlos wins and podiums are as good as Charles wins and podiums for our team. So far after 1 race Carlos is #1 points wise!

[JPZ]

I remember clearly Charles #2 driver to Seb but he ignored that and went on to be #! for sure. A few Carlos wins and podiums are as good as Charles wins and podiums for our team. So far after 1 race Carlos is #1 points wise!

Leclerc didn't ignore anything, he was just faster than Vettel.

[racingbradley]

Leclerc didn't ignore anything, he was just faster than Vettel.

Apparently there has been a change of tactics and Charles will have no 1 driver status.

[Silent Bob]

Who knows what to believe. One report says Vasseur is being muzzled and is ready to quit another says hes got full authority to do whatever he wishes and has complete authority.

As for Leclerc... there really aren't many options out there right now. Would be better if he works with the team to get it to the top. If he can be another Schumi, and rally the team around him, he'd be a legend forever. If he leaves, who knows.

[tifosi1993]

Very easy to rally the team around with capable people. Schumi had Todt, Brawn and Rory. Todt kept the team away from all the nonsense of Italian politics and success followed suit.

Alonso, who was on his prime and who was by far the best driver of F1 in 2010-2014, struggled with the "rallying" part. Only Alonso could fight for the title with a car like the F2012, but in his 5 years tenure at Ferrari, he never enjoyed any great cars.

So it is very hard for Charles to replicate what Schumacher did. This team is in a mess, and why wouldn't it be, when people like Elkann and Vigna, two unqualified people who only inherited their position because of family ties, are making all the decisions.

[Super M]

The rift between Vasseur and Benedetto Vigna constitutes the true epicenter of the ongoing earthquake orchestrated by president Elkann, who in effect put Vigna in charge of Vasseur, who now operates with powers inferior to those of his other nine peers in F1."

https://twitter.com/grandprix247/sta...wUThxH7cHtkSFA

Don't know if this is in fact true. You'd think that Vasseur would have been crystal clear about what his authorities are in the team before signing on the dotted lines with Ferrari ??

Remember , Italian media can be drama queens and create stories where there shouldn't be to be honest. So i'd be cautious about taking this story to heart. But then, this is just me........

If this was in fact true, it would have exploded all over Italy......Believe you me!

[ntukza]

You don't know why he resigned quite simply.

You seem to be repeating what I said to some degree.

[ntukza]

For more than 15 years, there have been no results at Ferrari, but the main people have remained in leading positions, despite the failures, nothing has changed. But apparently, after the start of the disastrous 2023 season, first Binotta and now Sanchez started to move. We cannot have the same main aerodynamics if after 10 years there is no success. The 2023 season has already been written off, but I'm worried about where they will get capable aerodynamics engineers in particular.

Good point. Perhaps it's a case of good riddance then.

[ntukza]

Well we'll see how capable the aero team is now without their leader. Hopefully they have some decent upgrades in the pipeline. Still think the car has potential.
Still think firing everyone is not the answer to our problems, especially before they have a replacement.

If they had decent upgrades in the pipeline already, there would be no need to fire the aero guy.

[patrese86]

All this speculation is seriously worrying. You don't get this amount of it if all is running smoothly. Plus I thought any kind of bump in the road would of happened sooner when Binotto announced his departure and Vasseur was appointed.

If the car really was setup incorrectly in Bahrain (despite over a full days worth of testing) then why are all the senior engineers leaving...

[Greig]

If they had decent upgrades in the pipeline already, there would be no need to fire the aero guy.

He wasn't fired, he was sending his CV to all other teams over the winter and now resigned to take up a new job.